Digimon: Butterfly
by Lord Puppetmon
Summary: [02 AU] Hida Iori is a fourth grader whose father, Hiroki, has been researching the Digital World for over twenty years. Unexpectedly, his connection to the Digital World deepens when he becomes a Chosen Child.
1. Yuuki o Uketsugu Kodomotachi e  Part I

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon. It belongs to Akiyoshi Hongo, Bandai, Toei and all those other people I have no connection to. If I owned Digimon, my favorite characters wouldn't have gotten such a crummy deal.

This is an alternate universe Digimon Adventure 02 fanfic. Everyone still lives in Odaiba and fights in the Digital World, but some minor things in the timeline have been changed, which happens to have a huge effect on the plot.

I use the Japanese names and terms from the original Adventure 02, and I'm not going to clarify who's who in the dub. Please consult Wikimon if you're having any trouble figuring it out.

All chapters in this fic are going to be named after assorted songs and BGMs, inspired by or used in the Digimon anime.

The first chapter will be split into two parts because it's painfully long. This is the first part, and part two will be posted as soon as my beta is done hacking it up.

Speaking of which? My beta, Lithrael, is the best ever, and I am very grateful to her. Thanks man. Heart ya.

There you have it. On with the show!

**Digimon: Butterfly**

By Lord Puppetmon

**Chapter 1: Yuuki o Uketsugu Kodomotachi e (To the Children Who Inherit Courage)**

**Part I**

"There you go!"

Hida Hiroki straightened up and patted the computer he had been working on, grinning. "See, Inspector Tezuka? Piece of cake."

"Oh, thank you very much, Hida-kun!" the middle-aged police inspector took his seat at the desk, looking amazed. "My, you fixed it so fast!"

Hiroki shrugged. "Told you, Inspector, you had a Trojan. It was kind of a nasty one, so I had to log back on in Safe Mode and delete it manually. But your PC should work smoothly now." He paused for a moment, seeing Tezuka giving him a blank stare. "Uh. Did I say something wrong?"

The older man laughed. "Not as far as I know! I'm just completely out of the loop when it comes to computers. It's a good thing I have you in my squad, Hida-kun."

Hiroki grinned. "Glad to be of help, Inspector."

"Now, Hida-kun... I'm quite reluctant to ask you for more help regarding computers..."

"That's alright, inspector," said Hiroki cheerfully. "Even if it's not in my job description, you can count on me."

Tezuka chuckled. "Always the first to jump up and offer your assistance, aren't you." Hiroki smiled, and the older man continued. "Well, you see, Hida-kun, I'm interested in the 'Terminal' device that's so popular with teenagers these days."

"Oh, the D-Terminal? It's popular with everyone, Inspector Tezuka," Hiroki said, smirking. "Teenagers are just a lot more vocal about it."

"Yes... especially my youngest daughter," said Tezuka, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "She asked me to buy this... _D-Terminal_ for her seventeenth birthday, but I know next to nothing about them. She will be very upset if I will buy her anything that isn't the newest and the best."

"The newest and the best, huh?" Hiroki repeated. "Hold on just a sec, Inspector," he said, rushing over to his own desk. Tezuka looked on curiously as the younger man opened one of his desk drawers and pulled out a rectangular object. Hiroki came back, handing the object to Tezuka. "This is what you're looking for, I think."

Tezuka adjusted his horn-rimmed glasses and inspected the object, a black device with a silver rim and buttons. "This is a D-Terminal? Why, I don't think I have ever seen one that wasn't white."

"That's because it's the newest edition of the D-Terminal," Hiroki explained. "It's called the D-Terminal Spectrum. Came out this December."

"D-Terminal Spectrum, is it...?" The grey-haired man hummed. "Was this name given to it because it comes in different colors?"

Hiroki grinned. "That, and is comes with a color screen. Also, the rim is made of silicone now, so it's more comfortable to hold, and there are so many new features they could make your head explode!" He gave Tezuka a quick look and laughed nervously. "Eheh, you know. Figuratively speaking."

Tezuka just smiled. "You seem to know a lot about the Terminal," the inspector commented.

"Well, I got the first model the moment it came out," Hiroki explained. "And I've had four months to familiarize myself with it. Besides," he shrugged, "I have a friend who works in the company that developed the D-Terminal."

"Oh, so you have 'connections' of sorts." Tezuka smirked.

Hiroki laughed. "Heh, something like tha-oh!" The D-Terminal started bleeping. "Someone's sending me a message. Could I..."

The inspector nodded, handing the device over to the younger man. He watched in awe as Hiroki flipped the cover open and started pressing the buttons rapidly. He could never get the hang of all these small electronic devices, and seeing someone use one with such great ease just astounded him.

Hiroki chuckled. "It's my son," he said, still pressing buttons. "He sent me a message to tell me that he'll be studying in the school library till evening."

Tezuka blinked. "Your... son? Iori-kun?"

Hiroki nodded. "Yup. Only son I've got, last time I checked."

"But... he's using a D-Terminal? Isn't he just nine years old?" Tezuka asked, flabbergasted.

"Ten years old next month, Inspector Tezuka," Hiroki corrected him with a grin, closing the cover on his D-Terminal.

O

Iori closed the cover on his own D-Terminal and sighed. He really would rather go home, but his teachers had the brilliant idea of giving the class a mountain of homework to remind them of the routine they would have to follow during the school year.

He pushed the white gadget into the pocket of his baggy cargo shorts and turned his attention back to his desk. As he retrieved his Japanese language notebook, he heard the sound of running echoing in the empty halls. The sound got closer while he searched for his math book.

The runners finally passed by the doorway of his classroom. Iori's green eyes widened as he heard what they were talking about.

"You mean there's trouble in the Digital World?"

He looked at the doorway, his mouth open in shock. He threw the notebook back into the desk in a hurry and rushed to the doorway, looking outside to see three children, all three older than he was, running in the direction of the stairway. One of them was a blond boy wearing a white fisherman hat and a loose yellow dress shirt.

"Takeru..." he mouthed. Takaishi Takeru was Iori's neighbor, two years his senior, who had moved into their apartment building a year ago. He was a nice guy and was a good friend to Iori, but never once did he mention the Digital World. Iori furrowed his brows. _Homework can wait,_ he thought to himself as he started running in the direction Takeru and the other two went.

They had already disappeared from view, but Iori had a good idea of where the three had hurried off to. He made a dash to the computer lab on the second floor. As he ran, a few strands of dark brown hair got in his face. He frowned and swept them away. _Maybe grandfather is right,_ he thought. _I guess a haircut wouldn't be such a bad idea after all_.

He came to a screeching halt near the door of the computer lab, hearing a sound. He listened closely. Indeed, there were three voices coming from inside the room, and he was quite sure he heard one of them say the word 'digital'. He inched closer to the door and opened it slightly, peeking into the room.

The three children from earlier were inside. His suspicions were confirmed; the blond with the fisherman hat was indeed Takeru. Next to him stood a girl with short light brown hair, wearing a jeans jacket and a pink dress. Iori didn't know her name, but he recognized her as a friend of Takeru's. He couldn't recognize the third person, a boy wearing the green-and-grey uniform of Odaiba Middle School, with cropped reddish-brown hair and a serious expression.

"Did you hear anything from the others, Koushirou-san?" Takeru asked the older boy, a hint of urgency in his voice.

The older boy, obviously the one named Koushirou, shook his head. "No. Just him."

"This sounds so awful," the girl said, looking worried. "I hope everyone's alright."

Koushirou furrowed his thick brows, looking thoughtful. "Well, Taichi-san said that the gate seems to be open. He couldn't check it, though. He had to speak with the coach, as the new captain of the soccer team. But he promised to come here as soon as possible."

Iori noted the talk about a gate. Maybe it was...?

"However," Koushirou continued, "he said that we can go ahead. Once he gets here, he'll monitor the computer lab for us."

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Takeru. He pulled something out of the pocket of his pants; a small, white device with a blue screen. The other two pulled out their own devices, nodding, and pointed them at one of the monitors.

To Iori's surprise, the screens on all three devices started glowing, and a program window appeared on the monitor. It resembled a control panel, with control knobs, a small screen in the middle and a red light. The red light flashed green, and without warning, the computer screen glowed in a white light, enveloping Takeru and the others. When the light disappeared, they were gone.

Iori rushed to the computer. The program window was still there, although the green light turned red again. He stared at it in awe.

"I can't believe it..." he mumbled.

O

While Iori marveled at what he had seen in the Real World, the three children appeared in the Digital World. Looking around, they realized that they had ended up in a typical digital forest, with tall greenish blue trees and giant flowers.

"Right then... now we just have to find Patamon and the others," said Takeru. "Did Taichi-san say where the Digimon are?"

"He didn't," Koushirou muttered, scratching his chin. "He told me that he got a distress call and nothing more."

"How are we going to find our Digimon, then?" asked Hikari.

"I'm not sure. I'm not sure how we're going to find our way around here, as it is," said Koushirou, gesturing at the many trees that surrounded them. "I don't know my left from my right in this forest."

"No problem! Our Digimon will show us the way!" Takeru said cheerfully, pointing at four small figures that emerged from the woods.

Sure enough, one of the figures started speeding up toward the children; a small, winged creature with orange fur and big blue eyes. "Takeru!" it exclaimed, flying into Takeru's arms.

"Patamon!" Takeru laughed as his Digimon partner nuzzled him. "Long time no see!"

"I really, really missed you, Takeru!" said Patamon, looking up at the boy with glistening eyes.

"It _has_ been a while, huh?" Takeru mused as he scratched behind one of the Digimon's wings.

It really had been quite a while since the last time they saw each other. The eight Chosen Children's Digimon tried to contact the Real World every chance they had, but the last time Takeru and the others visited the Digital World was nearly three years ago.

Meanwhile, Hikari and Koushirou reunited with their own partners.

"Tailmon! I missed you so much!" Hikari gave her partner a warm hug, a gesture the cat Digimon happily returned.

"Koushirou-han, you're looking well!" Tentomon told Koushirou, who smiled and held his beetle-like partner's clawed arms.

The last Digimon, a child-sized orange dinosaur, looked a bit disappointed. "Where's Taichi?" Agumon asked.

"Sorry, Agumon... he couldn't make it," Hikari replied, sympathetically patting the Digimon's head. "He's the captain of the soccer team, so..."

"Oh, it's okay if it's about soccer!" Agumon exclaimed, baring his sharp teeth in a toothy grin. "I knew he'd be captain if he worked hard!"

"This is no time for small talk," said Koushirou, shaking his head. "We got a distress call from you... what's wrong?"

"Everything," Tailmon replied, her expression grim. "Someone who calls himself the Digimon Kaiser is brainwashing and enslaving Digimon."

"Brainwashing them? That's terrible!" Hikari exclaimed, frowning.

"Who is this Digimon Kaiser person?" Koushirou asked with concern.

"We don't know," Agumon replied. "He could be human or Digimon... he never shows his face! He always sends his brainwashed Digimon to do his dirty work."

"Right, so you want us to help you evolve so you could defeat this Digimon Kaiser?" asked Takeru, pulling out his Digivice.

Patamon shook his head solemnly. "It's not going to work, Takeru..."

"Why not?" the blond demanded.

"We can't evolve anymore..." the winged Digimon mumbled.

The children gasped. "You can't evolve?! Why's that?" Koushirou asked anxiously.

Tentomon shook his head. "We don't know, I'm afraid. We tried to evolve to help the other Digimon, but it just didn't work. Even after we eat, our powers fail us."

"Besides..." Tailmon waved her long tail in front of her, showing it to the children. The Holy Ring at the tip of her tail, the source of her power, was missing.

"What happened?" Hikari asked, concerned.

The cat Digimon hung her head. "One of the brainwashed Digimon had me cornered... I had to leave the ring behind to escape. And now that I don't have the ring, I'm at half my maximum power."

Koushirou frowned. "Where are the other Digimon?"

"Patamon and I were with Piyomon just an hour ago," Tentomon replied. "She got hit by an attack from a brainwashed Snimon and had to stay behind to recover. I'm sure she's alright, though."

"We don't know where the others went... we all split when the attacks started," Agumon explained. "We were able to protect the other Digimon at first, but now we can't even evolve to our Adult levels, so..."

"This is really bad," Takeru muttered. "We have to find something that will help us defeat this Digimon Kaiser person."

"We did find something, though!" Patamon exclaimed.

"We're not sure if it will help us yet, Patamon," Tailmon scolded the smaller Digimon.

"What did you find?" asked Koushirou. "Anything can be helpful right now."

"Glad you asked. Follow me!" Agumon gestured for them to follow him, and started walking back the way he and the other Digimon came from. The children looked at each other and proceeded to follow the dinosaur, their own Digimon in tow.

O

The group arrived at a clearing several minutes later. Even before they exited the vast maze of trees, they could see the gigantic step pyramid, made out of large blocks of stone, but the sight of it standing alone in all its glory amazed them nevertheless.

"It looks like a Mayan pyramid," commented Koushirou.

"The Digital World never ceases to amaze me," Takeru admitted.

"C'mon, what we found is inside!" said Patamon, flying up the staircase. The others followed.

After what seemed like an eternity, they reached the end of the long stairway and entered the temple at the top of the pyramid. They walked through a short corridor, and at the end of it lay another staircase, much smaller this time.

"They're right up there," Agumon said, pointing at the end of the stairway.

At the top, four columns made of a smooth, marble-like material surrounded two simple granite pedestals. On each pedestal was a strange artifact, each different from the other. On the right was a white elliptical object, with two extensions resembling wings on each side of it and blue markings. The second object was similar in shape, but it was yellow and more mechanical in appearance, with a small hole on top from which a metallic spike protruded. Its markings were purple.

"What are those things?" asked Takeru, looking at the objects in awe.

"We don't know. Piyomon and I found these artifacts when we scanned the area last month," Tentomon answered. "But take a close look at those markings."

The children stepped up to the pedestals to get a closer look. Indeed, the Chosen Children had seen them before.

"That's... on the yellow one... the Crest of Knowledge," Koushirou breathed.

"And on the white one... it's Sora-san's Crest of Love!" Hikari exclaimed.

"But why?" Takeru asked. "This doesn't make any sense... the power of the Crests, we..." he trailed off.

"Even so, this could be the key to defeating the Digimon Kaiser!" Patamon exclaimed. "They have two of the Crests on them, right? That can't be bad!"

"You do have a point," said Takeru, smiling. "I think it's worth a shot."

Hikari and Koushirou nodded. "The real question is what are we to do with them?" Koushirou wondered.

"How about you try to pick up the one with the Crest of Knowledge, Koushirou-san?" Hikari suggested.

"Mmmm, I guess I could do that." Koushirou walked up to the pedestal and placed his hands on the yellow artifact, trying to pull it up.

Instead of leaving the pedestal, the artifact started glowing bright red, forcing Koushirou to squint. He tried to remove his hands from the artifact, but it seemed like his arms and hands were locked in place, unable to move.

The light left the artifact, and split into three small spheres of red energy. After vibrating in the air for a few moments, the spheres left the temple through a small, circular opening in the roof of the temple, jetting into the sky and out of sight.

The children and Digimon stared in shock. Finally, Tailmon spoke. "Okay, what in the world was _that_?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"I wish I knew," Koushirou mumbled, finally letting go of the artifact. "All I know is that I'm not sure I want to attempt this again."

O

Iori threw a crumpled piece of paper into the bin, and crossed his arms behind his head. He had been waiting for Takeru and the others to return for a while, but there was no sign of them. He frowned. Maybe he should go to the library, get his homework done and come back... no, that was a terrible idea. What if they were to return while he was in the library? Homework was important, but it could wait; he had a lot of questions, and he had to ask them now. What were these devices? What was that program? Where did it take Takeru and the others? Was it the Digital World?

No. He shook his head. He couldn't ask them such a specific question. He didn't want them to start asking questions about his connection to the Digital World. He had promised his father he wouldn't tell anyone, right?

Iori's father had been connected to the Digital World since he was around Takeru's age. Through his game console, he had been able to contact the Digital World and talk to some of its inhabitants. He had shared this secret with his best friend, and ever since, the two had shared a dream of going to the Digital World. Even losing their connection to the Digital World, when Iori's grandfather forbade them from playing what he thought were dangerous games, had not stopped them. Iori's father and his friend started working on this project seriously when they entered post-secondary education, and their work continued even after Iori's father started a family and became a police officer.

One event almost put a stop to their work together; a few months before Iori's sixth birthday, his father was shot on duty, taking a bullet for an important political figure. Miraculously, he survived, but the project to contact the Digital World was put on hold until he could recover.

A few months after that, a wondrous event had driven Iori's father and his friend to continue the project. A multitude of Digimon came from the Digital World and attacked Odaiba, led by a cruel vampiric Digimon. However, eight of the Digimon that arrived at Odaiba were friends of children, and in an epic battle, they had defeated the vampire. However, their battle was not over, and the battlefield moved to another world. Every inhabitant of the Real World could see them in the sky, sealing their last enemy with eight points of light and saving both worlds from destruction. This event had proved to Iori's father and his friend that the Digital World and the Digimon existed, and that other people could get there and befriend the Digimon. Iori's father had promised Iori that one day, they will go to the Digital World together.

When everyone started forgetting, Iori's father understood that the world wasn't ready for Digimon, and told Iori to keep the project a secret. And Iori did. For four long years, he hadn't told anyone. And he wasn't going to tell anyone now, either. Though if they had already gone to the Digital World...

Iori crumpled another piece of paper and pouted. This was going to be harder than he thought.

He cast a look at the computer Takeru and the others had disappeared into and gasped, the crumpled ball of paper falling from his hand. The screen started glowing white again. Three points of light appeared on the screen; red, blue and yellow, surrounded by an eerie, flickering red aura. Without warning, three beams shot from the screen, the yellow one targeting Iori and the other two flashing out the door of the computer lab. Iori yelped and threw his hands in front of him, trying to shield himself from the beam. He closed his eyes and grimaced, expecting the worst.

But the worst never happened, and he felt like he was holding something in his hand. He opened his eyes slowly, confused. He was holding a small device, not unlike the devices Takeru and the others used to enter the computer. His was different, however, with an egg-like design and yellow rims.

Iori stared at the device in his hand. After a few moments, a big smile spread across his face.

"_Awesome_."

O

"GAH!" Takeru yelped as he fell back, hitting the floor hard.

"Takeru-kun!" Hikari rushed to his side, worried. Koushirou and the Digimon joined her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah..." Takeru rubbed his aching back and gave the odd artifacts a look. "These things really won't budge."

Following the strange event, it took the group a while to convince Koushirou to try picking the artifact up again. When he finally gave it a second chance, nothing happened; it seemed that the artifact was extremely heavy, or attached to the pedestal. He had tried to pick up the artifact bearing the Crest of Love, for good measure, and Hikari and Takeru tried picking up both artifacts, but to no avail.

"Maybe us Digimon should try pulling them out too?" Agumon suggested.

"It would prove difficult to me, I'm afraid," said Tentomon, waving his arms. "I lack the appendages necessary for this task!"

"Well, you could just evo..." Agumon began, but stopped himself. "Oh, never mind..."

"Maybe we're not meant to take these out of the temple," Tailmon said.

"Perhaps, but they have two of the Crests on them," said Koushirou thoughtfully. "Maybe we should contact Sora-san?"

"Oh, and the two of you could move them together!" Patamon exclaimed.

"That's a good idea, Koushirou-han!" Tentomon complimented his partner.

"It _is_ a good idea, but Sora-san is busy," said Takeru. "Yamato told me that since she's the vice-captain of the tennis team this year, she has to meet the coach first thing after school."

Koushirou frowned. "And sports foil our plans yet again."

"We seem to have reached a dead-end, then," Tailmon sighed, crossing her arms.

"We're not any closer to figuring out what to do against the Kaiser than we were the moment we got here," Takeru said, disappointed.

"Takeru-san!"

"Huh?" Takeru and the others looked back at the staircase. At the top of it stood a young boy, no older than ten, with messy dark brown hair and rather odd clothes; a baggy purple T-shirt with blue sleeves and a high collar over a grey long-sleeved shirt, dark blue fingerless gloves, and blue pants tucked into a pair of brown boots. He looked more like an adventurer than a grade school boy, but Takeru recognized him right away.

"Iori-kun!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

The others looked at Takeru in surprise. "You know him?" asked Hikari.

"He's my neighbor..." Takeru mumbled.

Meanwhile, Iori walked over to the group, a glint of excitement in his eyes. "Takeru-san, this place is so cool!" he said, spreading his arms as if to show how cool it was. "How come you never told me about it?"

"Well... I... what are you wearing?" Takeru asked nervously, fumbling a bit with his fisherman hat.

"Oh, that?" Iori looked down at his outfit. "I was dressed like that when I got here. I don't know how that happened, but... they're really cool, aren't they?"

"Y-yeah..." the blond rubbed the back of his head, puzzled.

"Speaking of which, why are you still wearing the clothes you came to school with?" Iori asked, crossing his arms behind his head. "Doesn't everybody get cool clothes in this place?"

"Not as far as I know... what are you doing here, Iori-kun?"

"I came to look for you! And the other kids that came here." He nodded at Hikari and Koushirou and bowed. "I'm Hida Iori, fourth grade. Nice to meet both of you!"

"I'm Yagami Hikari, sixth grade," Hikari replied, smiling. "It's nice to meet you, too."

"And my name is Izumi Koushirou," said Koushirou. "How did you get here, Iori-kun?"

"The same way you did," replied Iori, grinning. "With that weird device and the gate program thing."

"Weird device?" Koushirou furrowed his brows. Hikari and the Digimon looked troubled and surprised as well.

"Do you mean like this one?" Takeru asked Iori, showing him his Digivice.

"Yeah! Well... I think mine's a different model or something," Iori said, showing Takeru the device that came out of the computer. "But I think they work on the same principle."

Takeru's eyes widened. "That... what is that, Koushirou-san?"

"I'm... not sure, myself," the older boy admitted, stepping up to get a closer look. "It does look like a Digivice, although..."

"So that's the name? Digivice?" Iori asked excitedly.

Koushirou nodded. "That's right."

"But if he has a Digivice, that means he's a Chosen Child!" Hikari concluded.

"But wouldn't he have a Digivice like ours if he really were a Chosen Child?" asked Takeru.

"Like Iori-kun says, maybe it's a newer model," Koushirou said.

"Wait, what's a Chosen Child?" Iori piped in.

"A Chosen Child is a kid chosen to protect the Digital World, which is the name of this place," Takeru explained to his young neighbor. "Koushirou-san, Hikari-chan and I are all Chosen Children, and we each have a Digivice and a Digimon partner, who help up protect the Digital World."

"A Digimon partner?" Iori asked, looking at the Digimon. "Like... like one of these guys? Are they Digimon?"

"We were last time I checked!" Agumon said cheerfully.

Iori laughed. "Wow, that is _way_ too cool! Nice to meet you all!"

Tentomon bowed. "Likewise."

Iori looked at the other children. "So these are your Digimon partners?"

Takeru nodded. "They are. Patamon is my partner," he said, pointing at Patamon. "Tailmon is Hikari-chan's partner, and Tentomon is Koushirou-san's partner."

"Agumon is my brother's partner," Hikari added. "But my brother couldn't make it today."

"And I'm going to get one of my own?" Iori looked as if he would burst from happiness.

"If this device you have really is a Digivice, then yes," said Koushirou. "And it brought you to the Digital World, so... how did you get it, again?"

"It came out of the computer you guys entered," Iori explained. "There were these three points of light on the screen, and they became beams, and one of them hit me, and..." he raised his Digivice. "Then I got this."

"Those spheres of light!" Patamon cried, flapping his wings excitedly. "The ones that came out of the artifact! That's where they went!"

"So it seems... and at least in Iori's case, one of them turned into this new Digivice," Tailmon concluded.

"How did you know which computer we entered?" Takeru asked.

Iori gulped. "Um, well... I kind of saw you going in and I hung around so I could ask you where you guys went to," he said sheepishly.

The older children grimaced. "Ugh... did anyone else see us...?" Takeru asked with a wince.

Iori shook his head. "Not as far as I know."

The others sighed in relief. "We really should be a bit more careful next time, even if it is an emergency," Koushirou mumbled, rubbing his temples.

"I apologize if I caused any problems," Iori said, bowing slightly.

"That's alright, Iori-kun," said Takeru, placing a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder. "Nobody else saw us. And since you're a Chosen Child..."

"Hey, wait a sec!" Agumon cut in. "Since he's a Chosen Child, maybe he'll be able to pick up one of the weird artifacts?"

"That does sound like a good idea," Koushirou admitted. Takeru, Hikari and the other Digimon nodded.

Iori looked confused. "What weird artifact?"

"There are two, actually," Hikari said, pointing at the two pedestals. "Over there."

Curious, Iori walked over to the pedestals, examining both artifacts closely. "What are these weird symbols?" he asked.

"Those are Crests," Tailmon explained. "We used their powers four years ago to get stronger. The symbol on the white artifact is the Crest of Love, and the symbol on the yellow artifact is the Crest of Knowledge."

"That one is Koushirou-han's Crest," Tentomon added. Koushirou nodded, confirming his partner's statement.

Iori looked at the artifacts again. "So... should I try to move them or something?"

"You can definitely try!" said Patamon.

"It didn't work for any of us, so don't feel bad if it won't work," Hikari reassured.

Iori smiled. "Well, we'll never know if it works for me or not if I won't try," he said, placing his hands on the yellow artifact. "I'll try this one first."

He pulled with all his might, only to fall back and land on his butt, pulling the odd artifact with him. He sat up and looked at the object in his hands, puzzled. "I didn't expect it to be this easy..." he muttered. He looked back at the pedestal and his jaw practically dropped, as he saw a huge column of purple light extending from it all the way up to the ceiling of the temple. Something appeared in the middle of the column, a large, brown ball.

The others were equally shocked. "What is it?!" Agumon cried.

"It's... is that a Digimon?" Hikari wondered aloud.

The ball moved. Suddenly, it had four yellow legs with sharp claws, and a mammalian head with fan-like ears. Iori realized that it was rolled up before, like an armadillo. The armadillo-like creature opened its eyes and looked at Iori. Its jagged mouth widened to form a big grin.

Before Iori could react, the creature jumped out of the column of light and into Iori's lap.

"Da'gya!" the creature exclaimed cheerfully in a thick Nagoya dialect. "You woke me up! Thank you!"

Iori just blinked, stunned.

"I've been waiting for you to wake me up for ages, da'gya!"

"You... you've been waiting for me?" Iori asked the creature.

It nodded.

"Are you my... Digimon partner?" the boy hazarded.

The monster armadillo nodded again. "That's right da'gya! I'm Armadimon!"

Iori was unable to speak, and only looked at the Digimon nervously. _His_ Digimon. His Digimon partner. He just couldn't wrap his head around the idea.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he looked up. It was Takeru, who smiled at him. "I guess that means you really _are_ a Chosen Child."

O

The corridors of the school were very quiet now, save for the sound of footsteps that echoed through the halls. The sound was made by the blue boots of Motomiya Daisuke, a sixth grader whose day was starting to get very, very weird. For starters, his friends, Takeru and Hikari, were acting all weird. When he asked them if they want to hang out after school, they agreed, but after they got a message on their D-Terminals, they said they had to go and refused to tell him why. He didn't think too much of it, figuring that they were going on a super secret date or something like that. He'd stopped being jealous of Takeru for having such a close friendship with Hikari ages ago. After that, he'd participated in a short meeting with the soccer coach. Okay, so that _wasn't_ weird. He was a regular now, after all, so he had to participate in the meetings. They had turned out to be incredibly boring, but in the end, he was going to play soccer, so he didn't mind.

The really weird thing was, on the way back to switch his school shoes with his boots, a blue beam had almost hit him square in the chest. Next thing he knew, he'd been holding a weird white device with a small screen, several buttons and light blue rims.

In the fifteen minutes since he'd got the device, Daisuke had tried to figure out what it was. He had inspected it closely, shaken it a bit and randomly pushed buttons, hoping it'd do something interesting. So far, the only interesting thing about it was the way it had arrived out of the blue.

He exited the school building, making his way to the gate. He ran his hand through his spiky burgundy hair. "What's up with this thing?" he wondered aloud. He adjusted the square goggles he wore on his forehead. Maybe it was just a broken game? Maybe Taichi would know what it was? Either way, Daisuke knew he had to figure out what it was soon, or he'd die from suspense.

At that moment, Daisuke, who was too deep in thought to pay attention to his surroundings, crashed head-first into someone who was standing by the gate. He yelped, falling back and landing hard on the pavement. He winced, rubbing his aching back with his free hand and looking at the device in his other hand. Thankfully, it was unharmed. Daisuke frowned and glared at the person he crashed into, a purple-haired girl wearing round glasses and the green and white Odaiba Middle School girls' uniform. As she got up, he opened his mouth to say something, but was taken aback when the girl gave him a glare of her own.

"Can't you watch where you're going?!" she demanded, dusting off her skirt. "Really, crashing into people like that...!"

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Daisuke protested, jumping back to his feet. "_You_ were the one standin' here right in front of the gate! You were askin' for it!"

The girl gasped. "Excuse me?! I was _asking_ for it?! You've got some nerve!" She walked up to Daisuke and stopped right in front of him, crossing her arms and staring him down. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that you should respect your elders?" the girl asked sternly.

"Eh?!" Daisuke placed his hands on his waist, raising an eyebrow at the girl. "What elders? You don't look that much older than me! And we don't even go to the same school!"

The girl hmphed. "Well, I'm only a first year student in middle school, but that still makes me older than _you_," she said, poking Daisuke's forehead pointedly. "And you should respect anyone older than you no matter what!"

"Forget it!" Daisuke crossed his arms stubbornly. "You're just a year older than me, and I only crashed into you 'cause you just stood there. You were askin' for it."

The girl snarled, clenching her fists tightly. "That's _it_! I have officially lost the patience to deal with you!"

"Oh yeah? Then what're you gonna do about it?" Daisuke inquired, glaring at the girl. She glared back.

"Oi, Daisuke! What's going on?"

Startled, the two broke their glare to look at the older teen that walked up to them. He had wild brown hair and wore the Odaiba Middle School boys' uniform. Like Daisuke, he wore a pair of goggles on his forehead, though his goggles were round and were worn over a blue headband. "Daisuke, what're you doin'? Picking fights with strangers?"

Daisuke blushed a bit. "Taichi-san, I..."

"He crashed into me when I stood in front of the gate, senpai!" the girl explained, bowing.

"W-well she was askin' for it!" Daisuke cried, pointing accusingly at the girl.

"Again with that?!" the girl groaned. "You're the moron that didn't look where he was going!"

Taichi scratched the back of his head. "Okay... this is an argument I'd rather stay out of. Just don't start hitting each other or anything. Anyway, I gotta head into school."

"Huh? Why's that?" Daisuke asked. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he made the connection. Didn't Takeru and Hikari say they had something to do...? "Wait, is this about whatever it was that Takeru and Hikari-chan had to do that was really important?"

"Uh... well, kind of..." Taichi answered nervously. "Hey, what's that in your hand?" he said with excess enthusiasm, changing the subject. "A new virtual pet?"

"I dunno," Daisuke shrugged, showing the weird device to Taichi. "It looks really cool, but I think it's broken."

The girl gasped. "Wait, you have one too?!" she retrieved a device identical to Daisuke's, with red rims instead of light blue.

"Hey!" Daisuke cried. "They're the same!"

Taichi's expression was suddenly very serious. "Hey, you... what's your name?"

"I'm Inoue Miyako!" the girl said, bowing again. "Pleased to meet you, senpai!"

"Where did you get that device?" Taichi asked.

"Oh, well..." Miyako looked a bit nervous. "Would it sound weird to you if I told you that it pretty much appeared out of nowhere?"

Daisuke gasped. "Did a blue beam hit you and you found yourself with that thingamajig in your hand too?"

Miyako glared at him. "If you have to know, yes, except it was a red beam." Then, she gave him a puzzled look. "Wait, how did you...?"

"Hey, you two," Taichi called, getting Daisuke and Miyako's attention. "Can you stick around for a while? I think I'm gonna have to explain some things to you now."

"You know what these things are, Taichi-san?" Daisuke asked eagerly.

"Well, I believe I do," said Taichi, smiling a bit. "They look similar and came to you in a similar way..."

"You're being cryptic, senpai!" Miyako protested.

"And I'm going to be even more cryptic now!" Taichi grinned. "So, Daisuke, Miyako! Do you guys believe in monsters?"

O

As the children and their Digimon reached the bottom of the pyramid, Armadimon came to a shocking realization.

"I'm starving," he sighed, tapping his underbelly with one paw.

Iori couldn't help but giggle. Even after they had a proper introduction, he still couldn't believe he has his very own Digimon. A living Digimon that experiences things like fatigue and hunger, at that!

The armadillo-like Digimon gave him a look. "What's so funny da'gya? Humans have to eat too, don't they?" he asked, tilting his head.

"Don't worry, we'll find something to eat soon," Iori assure, patting Armadimon's shell sympathetically.

"Not right now, though," said Koushirou. "We haven't found any sign as to what these artifacts are on top of the pyramid, so we still have to investigate."

The others nodded. Iori looked at the yellow, egg-like artifact he was hugging to his chest with one arm. It really didn't weigh much... it was really a strange thing, the fact that none of the older kids could lift it. They were all bigger and stronger than Iori. So why was he able to pick it up so easily? Maybe because he was chosen to. Iori smiled to himself. That was the most logical reason. He was a Chosen Child, after all, and the other kids already had their own Digimon. It was Iori that was chosen to lift the artifact and release Armadimon.

"I suggest we circle the pyramid and search for any signs," Koushirou continued. "Any weird symbols or Digicode on the stones... anything that would explain what these artifacts are all about."

"We should split up to cover more area," Takeru said.

Hikari looked back at the pyramid. "That's a good idea. This place is enormous!"

Koushirou nodded. "So, should we split into teams of human and Digimon partner, or..."

Suddenly, they heard a loud roar, followed by the sound of violent rustling in the bushes. "What is that?!" Iori asked, startled. It sounded to him like a dinosaur would sound in a movie.

As it turned out, it really was a dinosaur that burst out from the bushes. Iori inhaled sharply. It looked like a monoceratops. It was mostly black and white, with tough-looking armor on its back. Its eyes were bright red, and it really didn't look very friendly.

"That's a Monochromon!" Takeru exclaimed. "I thought they were usually docile Digimon!"

"They are, but not when they're controlled by the Digimon Kaiser! Look!" Tailmon pointed at the Monochromon. Iori noticed a thin black band circling the dinosaur's body.

"So that's how he controls them..." Koushirou muttered.

Agumon ran in front of the others. "Stand back, everyone! Baby Flame!" he shouted, inhaling and then breathing out a ball of flame that hit Monochromon square in the snout. It winced a bit, but recovered quickly, opening its jaw wide. Iori noticed something glowing inside its throat. Something like... fire?

"Oh crud... RUN!" Takeru yelled. The group scrambled as Monochromon breathed out a gigantic flare at them. The flare missed Iori by mere inches as it hit the steps of the pyramid.

Tailmon ran up to Monochromon, growling. "Cat Punch!" she cried, hitting the dinosaur with all her might. It responded by lowering its giant head and striking Tailmon with its long nasal horn. She fell back on the ground. "It's no use," she muttered. "I can't do anything without my Holy Ring..."

Armadimon looked at his partner. "Iori! Use your power da'gya!"

Iori raised his eyebrows. "Power? What power?" he asked hesitantly. "I don't have any power..."

"Sure you do! If you just say "Digimental up", I'll be able to help!" Armadimon insisted.

"Digimental Up...?" Iori looked at the object in his hands. "You mean... is this it? Should I use this thing?"

Armadimon grinned. "That's it dag'ya! You're really smart, Iori!"

Iori looked at the Monochromon, who stomped his way towards them. He wasn't completely sure how saying "Digimental up" would help... but he had to try, right? If he wanted to live on to help protect and explore the Digital World, he had to trust his partner.

He held the artifact up. The others looked at him, astonished. "Iori-kun, what are you doing?" Koushirou asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Helping," Iori replied. He took a deep breath, and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"_Digimental UP!_"

Armadimon started to glow in a bright purple light. Monochromon stopped in its tracks, shocked. Iori watched in awe as the glowing form of Armadimon started changing.

"_Armadimon, Armor Evolution! Steel Knowledge, Digmon!_"

The light disappeared, revealing Armadimon's new form. Iori gaped. Armadimon was replaced by a... giant yellow mechanical insect with a drill for a nose. There were drills at the end of his arms, and small scoops came out from his elbows. The purple symbols of the artifact were scattered all over the new Digimon's armored body, with the Crest of Knowledge in plain view on his back.

"Armadimon..." Iori breathed.

"Digmon now, Iori!" said the giant insect cheerfully. "Now that you released your power, I can really help da'gya!"

Iori laughed. Under all the armor, it was still his Digimon. "You... you've really changed!"

"He evolved..." said Hikari, eyes wide in shock.

"But... with the artifact?" a puzzled Takeru looked at Patamon, who was floating beside him, as if searching for answers. Patamon shook his head; he didn't know anything either.

Monochromon roared, charging at the group. Digmon lifted his arms. "Okay, guys, take cover! I'll do the rest!" The children nodded, running to the sides.

Digmon raised his arms and straightened up. "Big... CRACK!" he yelled, driving his nose drill and arms in the ground. From the spot where Digmon stood, the ground started cracking. As the crack reached Monochromon, it grunted in terror, and tried to move away. Its attempt to flee only caused the ground to break under its feet, and it disappeared inside the hole it created.

"He did it!" Agumon cheered.

"Or not!" Tentomon waved his hands frantically as Monodromon's upper body appeared over the edge of the crack in the ground, narrowing its red eyes.

"Don't worry! Everything is under control da'gya!" said Digmon, his voice confident. He crossed his hands over his chest. "Gold... RUSH!" he yelled, spreading his arms and releasing the drills from his arms. They flew at Monochromon like rockets and exploded as they made contact with the dinosaur, creating a cloud of smoke around it.

Once the smoke cleared, Iori could see that Monochromon was still trying to stay on the edge of the crack, grunting slightly. However, its eyes were no longer red, and he could see that the band around its body disappeared. "Digmon, you did it!" he exclaimed.

Digmon nodded, and the purple light engulfed him again. As his form shrunk, a purple beam hit the screen of Iori's Digivice. Before Iori could register what just happened, the purple light flickered on the screen of the Digivice, and he noticed something glowing with the same light in the pocket of his pants. His D-Terminal! He'd forgotten he even had it here. He pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open to see a wireframe model of an egg on the screen.

Armadimon was back in his original form, and tapped Iori's leg, smiling. "I wouldn't have been able to do anything if not for Iori da'gya!"

"That was really amazing!" Takeru said, walking up to Iori and Armadimon. "This armor evolution is really something special!"

"So, that's what the artifact was all about, huh?" Koushirou scratched his chin, smiling. "Or, what did you call it, Digimental?"

A loud crash and the sound of Monochromon's growl brought them back to reality. "Everyone, I think that since Monochromon isn't chasing us anymore, he's going to need a little help," said Hikari, pointing at the crack in the ground nervously.

**To Be Continued…**


	2. Yuuki o Uketsugu Kodomotachi e  Part II

**Disclaimer:** Second verse, same as the first. I don't own Digimon and all that.

**Digimon: Butterfly**

By Lord Puppetmon

**Chapter 1: Yuuki o Uketsugu Kodomotachi e (To the Children Who Inherit Courage)**

**P****art II**

After helping Monochromon out of the hole and sending him on his way, the group made its way back into the forest, searching for the spot which they came from.

"So I guess that other artifact was a Digimental, too," said Koushirou. "So there's at least one more Chosen Child who will be able to pick that Digimental up."

"There were three beams," Iori noted. "One of them hit me... the other two must've found their way to two more Chosen Children."

"Either way, now I feel better!" Agumon exclaimed, grinning at Iori. "With armor evolution, I feel that you and the other Chosen Children can take care of the Digimon Kaiser when we can't!"

"You can count on us da'gya!" Armadimon announced, smiling at Iori.

"Hey, I didn't notice that TV here before," said Takeru. True enough, there was a television lying on the ground in front of them. As they got closer, the image on the screen became clearer.

"It's the computer lab!" Hikari exclaimed.

Iori crouched, looking at the image closely. "Whoa, it is! So I guess that's the gate back home?" he wondered aloud.

Without warning, the children were engulfed in a blue light, and their forms were sucked into the television screen. All that was left were five very confused Digimon.

"They got sucked in!" Agumon mumbled, scratching his head.

O

A flash of white light later, and the four children lay in a heap on the floor of the computer room. Koushirou had the misfortune of ending up at the bottom of the pile, and his arms flailed wildly as he mumbled about being unable to breathe. Not wanting to cause him too much pain, Takeru, Hikari and Iori quickly scrambled off.

"I guess Iori was right," said Takeru, rubbing his head sheepishly. "It really _was_ the gate back home."

Koushirou stood up and dusted his uniform off, frowning. "That was definitely not fun."

"But the Digital World was!" Iori exclaimed, clenching his fists in excitement. "The sky, and the huge flowers, and the Digimon! I can't believe I have a Digimon partner!"

Takeru laughed. "You're just as excited as I was when I arrived at the Digital World and met Patamon," he said. "Man, that brings back memories."

"We're going to go again soon, right?" Iori asked, looking at the older kids hopefully.

"We probably are," Koushirou confirmed. Iori grinned. "We have a lot of things to take care of. This Digimon Kaiser is a big threat. And there's that other Digimental, though Iori-kun said there were three points of light, so..."

"Hey, mind if we interrupt you guys?"

All eyes turned to the door, where a teenager with wild hair and round goggles stood.

"Oniichan!" Hikari exclaimed, smiling at him.

"Long time no see, Taichi-san!" Takeru said, giving him a short wave.

"I did wonder why I didn't see you waiting here," Koushirou commented, smiling.

Taichi rubbed the back of his head and gave them an apologetic smile. "Sorry 'bout that. I had some important stuff to take care of. In fact, I think it might interest you guys, too." He entered the room, and two people followed; a spiky-haired boy wearing his own pair of square goggles, and a bespectacled, purple-haired girl. Iori recognized the girl; Miyako was his neighbor and friend for the past two years.

"Miyako-san!" he exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Miyako pouted. "What, you don't want me around? I can leave if that's what you want."

"N-no, I didn't mean that..." Iori mumbled nervously.

To his annoyance, Miyako grinned. "I know you didn't! I was just joking around." Iori sighed. Even after two years, he still hadn't managed to figure her out completely, and he had no doubt he never would.

Takeru and Hikari were equally surprised to see the boy Taichi brought in. "And Daisuke! Why are you here too?" Takeru asked, astonished.

Daisuke crossed his arms. "Well, I dunno, really. Taichi-san says it has to do with this thingamajig I got..."

"_Thingamajig_?"

"Yeah... Digivice or whatever." Daisuke pulled his Digivice out of his pants pocket.

"And I have one too." Miyako showed them her own Digivice.

"So you two are the two new Chosen we were looking for!" Hikari exclaimed.

"Huh?" Daisuke and Miyako looked at each other, puzzled.

Koushirou turned to Taichi. "Where did you find these two?" he asked.

"I found them arguing with each other next to the main gate," Taichi said, ruffling Daisuke's hair (who seemed to be a bit embarrassed by the gesture). "Apparently, they ran into each other outside." He grinned at the two younger kids, who were blushing slightly and pouting. "I noticed their Digivices and gave them a briefing on the situation. Then I brought 'em here"

"So the remaining Digimental at the temple must belong to one of them," Iori concluded.

"Digimental? Temple?" Miyako asked, incredulous. "You're really not making any sense."

"Yeah, what's going on here?" Daisuke exclaimed, irritated.

"I told you two already," said Taichi, rolling his eyes. "If you have a Digivice, it means you're Chosen Children."

"And you want us to save this Digital World place? It still sounds a bit fishy to me," said Miyako, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, you sure this isn't some kind of a video game or somethin'?" Daisuke asked.

"It's much cooler than any video game!" said Iori excitedly. "It's amazing, you'll love it!"

"Eh?" Miyako raised her eyebrows. "You went to this Digital World?"

"We all did, Miyako-kun," said Koushirou. "We came back just a few minutes ago."

Iori's grinned. "I got a Digimon partner, Miyako-san! And he evolved and saved us all from a possessed Digimon!"

"I didn't understand a word of what you said," Miyako said. "But... it sounds exciting!"

"Yeah, that DOES sound really cool!" Daisuke grinned. "So you say that if I have this Digi-thingy, I can go and get a Digi-whatsit and fight too?"

"You still don't get it," Taichi chuckled. "It's not a game, Daisuke, it's the real thing."

"It sounds too much like a monster taming RPG to be real," Daisuke mumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, if Koushirou-senpai and Iori-kun say it's real, I'm going to believe them!" Miyako said excitedly. "So when can we go?"

"I think you'll have to wait a bit," said Koushirou. "It's getting late. Your parents will be worried."

"And I still have to go to the library to get my homework done..." Iori buried his face in his hands. "Ugh, I completely forgot!"

Daisuke and Miyako both made sour faces. "Well, fine," Miyako muttered. "But you'd better take me there tomorrow!"

"Hey, you're not leaving me here!" Daisuke cried. "I'm goin' too!"

"We'll go, we'll go, don't worry," Takeru said, trying to calm them down. "First thing after school tomorrow."

"And I'll come too. To make sure you guys won't get into trouble," Taichi said, grinning. Daisuke pouted.

Iori raised his hand nervously. "So, now that it's all settled and we're going and all... can I be excused? I really have to get to the library..."

The others laughed. "Of course! Who're we to prevent you from learning?" said Takeru, placing a hand on Iori's shoulder. "Come on, I'll go with you."

"Hey, wait, Takeru! Can't you tell me more about the Digital World first?" Daisuke pleaded.

"Tell me, too! I don't want to be the last to know!" Miyako said, giving Daisuke a little glare.

Takeru chuckled nervously. "Okay, okay... no rush, I can tell you everything on the way."

The four exited the room just as Daisuke and Miyako started bombarding Takeru with questions. Hikari followed them, shaking her head in amusement. Taichi chuckled. "I guess we'd better go too, Koushirou," he said. "You coming or what?"

"In a minute," said Koushirou, retrieving his D-Terminal from his pocket. "I just want to inform everyone of everything that happened."

"Oh, yeah, good idea!" Taichi grinned. "Hey, here's another idea. I'll call Yamato and Sora and tell 'em. You take Jyou and Mimi-chan. How does that sound?"

"That does take a lot of the load off my shoulders," Koushirou nodded. "Thank you, Taichi-san."

"Hey, no problem. It's a Chosen Child's job to help others!" Taichi said with a smile. He turned to door, waving to Koushirou as he left the room. Koushirou chuckled. He took a look at the computer they used to enter the Digital World, but his face fell. The light was red again.

"It closed up..."

O

The police compound where Hiroki worked was walking distance from the apartment complex where he lived with his family. Being a sensible man, Hiroki did the sensible thing; he walked to the police compound and back every day. He did have a car, but if he could walk to work, why not? It kept him from becoming a lumpy couch potato, now that he had a rotten desk job as a police detective. Not that being a police detective was bad; he just missed the action.

The day was quite good for walking, too. It was the beginning of spring, the air was starting to get warm, and their neighborhood was fairly quiet. Really, all that was missing to make it a sickeningly perfect day was cherry blossoms. But a quiet, warm spring day was quite enough to make Hiroki happy.

Of course, silence was made to be broken, and the culprit this time was Hiroki's cellphone. "Oh for goodness' sake..." He stopped and searched for it. _Too many pockets_, he thought, grimacing as he finally found the cellphone in the fourth pocket he searched. He flipped it open and brought it to his ear. "Hello?"

"_Hey, Hiroki._"

Hiroki laughed. "Yuki! I didn't expect to get a call from you!"

On the other end of the line, Oikawa Yukio chuckled. "_Yeah, I didn't expect to find the time to call you either. But I had to wake up now and figured it'd be a good time to call._"

Hiroki resumed walking. "What time is it over there? Isn't it four in the morning or something?"

"_Yes, it is. But I have a flight to catch, you know._"

"Oh, that's right! Twenty hours on a plane, right?"

"_Right. I'm not looking forward to it... especially since I had only five hours of sleep. But you know how these big trade shows get..._"

"I don't, actually," replied Hiroki. "You have to take me to one sometime, though!"

"_Heh, I'll keep that in mind._"

"So, got any interesting news?"

"_Oh, we just finalized the deal with the Americans for distribution rights over the Spectrum,_" Yukio said casually.

"No way! The Americans gave in to your offer that easily?"

"_Yeah, I couldn't believe it either. They want to release it to the American market by Christmas, they just couldn't wait any longer._"

"So Yuki," Hiroki said in a sly tone. "Am I getting top secret insider information here?"

He heard Yukio laugh. "_Are you kidding? I wouldn't have told you anything about it if it wasn't released to the press already!_"

"It was released to the press?!" Hiroki cried in disbelief.

"_Hours ago._"

"Damn." Hiroki pouted. "See, this is why I hate being a working man sometimes. I miss out on all the important news."

"_Well, now you know._"

Hiroki shrugged, smiling. "Yeah, better late than never."

"_Say,__ Hiroki... how are the kids? Did they manage to wreck my car yet?_"

Hiroki chuckled. "Oh, the 'kids' are doing fine. And they didn't manage to ruin your car just yet."

The man on the other side of the line sighed. "_That's good... I want to see everything in one piece when I get back on Thursday._"

"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure the kids will be in one piece even if they do wreck your car," said Hiroki. "I'm not sure I could say the same about the car, though..." he chuckled.

"_Oh, shut up._"

"Hah, I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" Hiroki reassured. Suddenly, he heard something bleeping in his pocket. "Oh, hold on, Yukio... got a message on the D-Terminal."

"_Oh, I see... should I call later, or...?_"

"No, no, it's alright," said Hiroki, bringing the D-Terminal out of another pocket and flipping it open with one hand. "I'll just check what it is. Probably Iori, he went to the library earlier... though I honestly can't imagine why he'd stay in the library for four hou-"

Hiroki stopped in his tracks, staring at the small screen of his D-Terminal silently. On the other end of the line, Yukio was getting worried. "_Hiroki? Are you still there?_"

"Yeah, I'm here," Hiroki answered, a wide grin spreading across his face. "Yukio... you are not going to believe this."

O

Taichi checked his watch. Where was that Yamato? They had agreed to meet at the entrance to the local park, and Yamato was now almost fifteen minutes late. It wasn't a new occurrence, but Taichi still found it annoying. He was willing to bet it was Yamato's band again. When he was practicing with the Teenage Wolves, he always lost track of time or stayed behind when the other members of the band insisted that they should practice some more.

Another minute. Yamato was officially fifteen minutes late. Taichi groaned.

"Oi, Taichi!"

Yamato came running, his guitar case on his back.

"Well, 'bout time you got here!" said Taichi, crossing his arms. "We've been waiting for you, you know!"

"Sorry, sorry," the blond teenager muttered, adjusting the strap of his guitar case. "The guys insisted they couldn't practice without me. We have a gig next week, you know."

Taichi rolled his eyes. "I think Digital World matters are a little bit more important than your gig, aren't they?" he asked.

"They are. I'm here after all, aren't I?" Yamato grinned, playfully punching Taichi in the shoulder.

Taichi sighed, but smiled despite himself. "Yeah, yeah. C'mon, the others are waiting, like I said."

He led Yamato through the paved paths of the park, until they reached a small playground, surrounded by a number of benches. Koushirou, Hikari and Takeru waited for them there, along with a girl with light brown hair wearing the Odaiba Middle School uniform, and a tall boy with blue hair and glasses wearing a blue and white school uniform.

"There you are!" Sora smiled at the new arrivals from her seat on one of the benches.

"Everyone's accounted for, then," said Koushirou, sounding satisfied.

"Everyone except for Mimi-kun, of course," said Jyou.

"Someone filled her in, I assume?" Yamato asked, placing his guitar case on the bench next to Sora.

"We sent her an email," replied Hikari. "It's really early in the morning in New York, though..."

"Eh, she'll know soon enough," said Yamato. "In any case... so someone's stirring some serious trouble in the Digital World?"

Taichi made a face. "No, really? Come on, Yamato, I gave you all the details when we talked on the phone!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Yamato waved him off. "Digital World in trouble, Digimon can't evolve, new Chosen, Digimentals, all that stuff. You didn't tell me who's responsible, though."

"That's because no one knows," said Takeru. "Not even the Digimon."

Yamato's blue eyes widened. "No way. The Digimon too?"

"All they know is that it's someone called the Digimon Kaiser," Koushirou explained. "No one has ever seen him, but he brainwashes and enslaves Digimon mercilessly with those black rings."

"This Digimon Kaiser sounds like a serious enemy," said Sora.

"The Kaiser sent one of his brainwashed Digimon to attack us today when we went to the Digital World," said Takeru. "It was horrible. Monochromon are usually so peaceful... it's a good thing we had an Armor Digimon around."

"If armor evolution is the only way to bypass those sudden restrictions on evolution, then these three kids are the only hope we have left," said Koushirou.

"Who are they, anyway?" Jyou asked, adjusting his glasses. "From your messages, it sounded like you know something about them."

Taichi nodded. "Yeah. Well, I know Daisuke, in any case. He's a good kid. And a regular in the soccer club this year, to boot."

"He's a good friend of ours, too," Hikari gestured at herself and at Takeru, who nodded.

"I'm not familiar with Daisuke-kun, but I do know Miyako-kun," said Koushirou. "I've known her since I was in the fifth grade. We were both in the computer club. And I believe she's your neighbor, Takeru-kun?"

"Yup," Takeru nodded. "She helped me a lot when I moved to Odaiba last year, and she fixed my computer when it broke a few months ago."

"Takeru, isn't this Iori kid your neighbor too?" asked Taichi.

"Iori?" Jyou asked cautiously.

Takeru nodded. "Hida Iori. He's only in the fourth grade, but he's got a good head on his shoulders."

"I see..." Jyou mumbled, looking thoughtful.

"When are you going again?" asked Sora.

"Tomorrow, I think," Hikari replied, giving Koushirou a look. "But Koushirou-san said there were some issues with the Digital Gate."

Koushirou sighed. "Well, last time I checked, the gate closed up again. But I'm going to check the PCs in the computer lab out tomorrow, anyway. If anyone wants to come..."

"I already promised I'll go," Taichi said with a smile.

"I'll come too," Sora volunteered. Takeru and Hikari nodded as well.

Jyou sighed. "Sorry, I'll have to pass this time. They're forcing us to choose our clubs tomorrow."

"The guys will kill me if I'll skip practice again," muttered Yamato.

"That's alright, Oniichan," Takeru smiled at his older brother. "Leave it to us."

"Yeah, we'll kick butt and take names in your place," said Taichi and sniggered.

Yamato just chuckled and placed his hand on Taichi's shoulder. "You do that. And let me know how it goes."

Taichi grinned and gave him a thumbs up. "You got it!"

O

"And then Digmon blasted him with his drills!" Iori punched the air with both hands. "Pow! Just like that!"

Iori's audience was gathered around the table, listening intently; his father was bent forward, eyes glistening and mouth open in awe, completely absorbed in his son's story. His mother and grandfather were paying as much attention to the tale, though his mother's green eyes were wide with what seemed to be shock, and his grandfather's frown just deepened as the story progressed.

"I think he called it Go... um, I dunno, something about a Rush..." Iori paused to try and recall the name of the attack.

"Gold Rush?" Hiroki suggested.

"Yeah, that's it!" Iori exclaimed. "It was so cool! And he managed to break Monochromon's black ring with his attack, so he stopped attacking us." He paused again. "And... well, that was the end of it, really. Digmon turned back into Armadimon, and we rescued Monochromon from the hole, and then we went back to school. I had to leave Armadimon in the Digital World, though. I wish I could bring him home... but I'll see him again tomorrow, so I guess it's okay."

There was a long silence. Finally, Hiroki spoke. "I cannot believe you went to the Digital World," he said, a wide grin on his face.

"Sorry about that, dad..." Iori apologized, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I didn't mean to go there before you."

"Iori, don't be silly!" Hiroki waved it off. "I'm just glad you got to go to the Digital World! I always told you that I want to share the Digital World with you, didn't I?" He sighed happily. "Man. My son, the Chosen Child. This has to be the best day of my life. You know, other than my wedding," he added, smiling at his wife.

"The Digital World will continue to haunt me until the day I die, I'm sure of it now," muttered Chikara, Iori's grandfather.

Hiroki gave him a look. "Come on, dad, don't be like that."

"It sounds much more dangerous than I had imagined..." Iori's mother mumbled.

"Fumiko, come on..." Hiroki sighed. "You two are taking it too hard."

"And you're not taking it seriously, Hiroki," Chikara said, crossing his arms. "You know more about the Digital World than all of us, you should know just how dangerous it can be."

"It's not, grandfather!" Iori cried. "It's really not! Not as long as I have Armadimon to protect me!"

"Yeah, dad, it's not like the kid's going there on his own," Hiroki said. "He has his Digimon, and friends with their own Digimon... and in case you didn't catch it, he's a Chosen Child!"

"Chosen Children aren't impervious to getting hurt, are they?" Chikara inquired. "They're still human."

"Well, no," Hiroki admitted. "But when you're a Chosen Child, it means you have what it takes to protect the Digital World and keep yourself in one piece while you're at it."

"Are you sure he's going to be okay, Hiroki?" Fumiko asked, looking concerned. "He's not even ten years old..."

Iori groaned. "Mom, I'm going to be ten years old in a month. And I'm not a baby, I know how to keep myself out of trouble."

"Heh, that, you do," Hiroki chuckled, reaching over the table to ruffle his son's hair. "He's a smart kid, Fumiko. That's why he got the Digimental of Knowledge. Trust me, as someone who's been in contact with the Digital World for twenty-two years, I can tell you that he's going to be a great Chosen Child."

"I want to believe you," Fumiko sighed. "I'm just so worried about him."

"As you should be," Hiroki assured, stroking her shoulder gently. "You're his mother, after all. And Iori loves you, so if you keep worrying about him, it'll be an incentive to keep himself from, I dunno, getting crushed by a giant Digimon. Of course, I think the fact that it would really, really hurt would be a good incentive too."

Hiroki got what he was aiming for, as Fumiko started laughing, despite herself. "No, Fumiko, I'm serious!" Hiroki said, unable to hide his smile. "Here, see, I'll even get Iori to promise you that he won't get crushed by a giant Digimon. Hey, you," he pointed at Iori. "Do you promise that you will not get crushed by a giant Digimon?"

Iori giggled. "Yeah, I promise."

He smiled at Fumiko and Chikara. "See? Nothing to worry about."

Fumiko sighed and smiled. "I guess so."

Chikara shook his head. "I still don't fully agree with you, son," he said. "But you do know about the Digital World more than I do, and Iori _is_ your son."

Hiroki nodded. "Glad we've come to an understanding on the subject, dad. I just really want Iori to get to explore the Digital World."

"I really want to start exploring, too!" Iori exclaimed enthusiastically. "I wanna know if there are more cool things there like Mayan temples in the middle of nowhere."

"And you'll tell me everything when you find them, right?" Hiroki pleaded.

Iori grinned. "You can count on me, dad!" he said, saluting.

Hiroki chuckled. "Good. Now, speaking of neat things, can you tell me more about Armadimon? Like... how does he speak, for example?"

Iori hesitated. "Well, I _think_ he speaks in a Nagoya dialect..."

"An armadillo that speaks in a Nagoya dialect?!" Hiroki laughed. "Oh, I _love_ the Digital World."

O

Koushirou raised his Digivice to the computer screen and concentrated. _Come on, open up,_ he thought to himself grumpily. He had been the first to arrive at the computer lab, rushing to the elementary school as soon as his last class ended, and had been trying to reopen the Digital Gate in the computer they used yesterday since his arrival. Unfortunately, all his attempts were fruitless, as the gate simply refused to comply and seemingly failed to recognize his Digivice.

He concentrated harder on his Digivice. Finally, the gate display bleeped, to signify an unknown command. Koushirou sighed, lowering his hand._ It just won't open... _he thought as he pocketed his Digivice._ I hope the others won't be too disappointed when I break the news to them._

As if to taunt him, Iori entered the room. "Oh! Hey, Koushirou-san!" he greeted Koushirou, grinning. "I'm not too late, right?"

"No, don't worry, you're the first to arrive besides me," Koushirou assured. "Though..." he looked back at the screen. His eyes widened; the magenta ellipse indicating that the gate was closed had turned green. The gate was open again... but how?

"Huh? Is there a problem?" Iori inquired. "You seem worried."

"No, no..." Koushirou shook his head. "Everything is fine. Don't worry about it."

"So we can go back to the Digital World? I can see Armadimon again?" Iori asked, his eyes bright with anticipation.

Koushirou nodded, smiling. Iori's enthusiasm about anything related to the Digital World made him feel optimistic about these new Chosen Children. "As soon as the others get here, we'll go."

Iori beamed. "_Awesome_! I was so excited I couldn't sleep last night... I can't wait to see Armadimon again!"

Soon, the others arrived. Daisuke, Takeru and Hikari came together; Daisuke was very energized and eager to go, and was a bit annoyed when he was instructed to wait for the others. Luckily, Taichi, Sora and Miyako arrived a few minutes later, and the team was ready to go.

Daisuke pulled his Digivice out of his pocket and chuckled. "Man, I finally get to use this thing! I can't wait!"

"So this is the new Digivice?" Sora asked, eyes wide. Miyako and Iori took their own Digivices out and showed them to her. "They're so different from ours," she said as she inspected them.

"Yeah, for one thing, they come in different colors," Taichi noted. "I feel kind of slighted!" he laughed. "Our Digivices don't have such cool colors!"

Miyako cast a longing look at the computer. "Oh, I really want to go to the Digital World already! We can go, right?"

Koushirou tapped on the mouse thoughtfully. "Yes, we can... we can only get into the Digital World through the temporary gate in this computer, but this Digital Gate works fine, so it's not a problem. It's quite odd, though... temporary Digital Gates opened up several times before, but I've never seen one that remained open for two days in a row."

"Well, if it's open, then nothing else matters!" Daisuke exclaimed cheerfully, adjusting his goggles. "Let's go to the Digital World!"

Taichi chuckled. "All warmed up and ready to go, are you? Everyone, ready those Digivices!" On his command, the children pointed their Digivices at the screen. Koushirou was about to do so as well, but he felt Taichi tapping on his shoulder. "No, Koushirou, I think it'd be better if you'd stay here," said the older boy, frowning.

Koushirou raised his eyebrows, shocked. "What? But I thought..."

"We saw Fujiyama-sensei outside a few minutes ago, bragging about how he's monitoring the computer room today," Taichi explained, and smiled at Koushirou. "You can stick around to keep him busy in case he comes in, right?"

"B-but, Taichi-san..." Koushirou stammered. To his chagrin, Taichi's smile widened and he patted Koushirou's shoulder encouragingly.

"Thanks, Koushirou! You're the man. You'll do a good job, I'm sure of it." With that, he pointed his Digivice at the computer. "Right, let's go!"

The computer bleeped, and the screen started glowing. Koushirou's face fell as he saw the other children being engulfed in light and sucked into the computer. When the light dimmed, he was all alone. And to make matters worse...

"Well, if it isn't Izumi! It's been a while!"

_Crud,_ Koushirou thought as he faced Fujiyama-sensei, pulling the best forced smile he had in his arsenal.

O

In the Digital World, the children found themselves in the same forest from the previous day. Daisuke and Miyako looked around in awe.

"Is this really the Digital World?" Miyako wondered aloud.

"Dude, it _looks_ like it came straight outta some computer game too," mumbled Daisuke.

Iori made a sound of surprise. "Hey, your clothes changed just like mine did!"

"Huh?" Daisuke looked at Iori, who was wearing the same adventurer's outfit the Digital World had bestowed to him the previous day. As Daisuke looked down at his own clothes, his jaw dropped. His short-sleeved, light blue hooded sweater, blue shirt and brown cargo pants were gone. Instead, he was wearing a blue motorcycle jacket with flames embroidered on the bottom and a furry collar over a light green T-shirt and baggy khaki pants, as well as a pair yellow gloves and orange boots. "What?! How did that happen?!" he exclaimed, tugging on the ends of his jacket.

Miyako was busy examining her own outfit, though she seemed much less shocked than Daisuke; in fact, she seemed delighted. Her schoolgirl outfit was replaced by a bizarre combination of a mustard-colored vest over a light blue turtleneck, a pair of baggy, bright red pants held up by a belt and a round orange helmet. She was also wearing a pair of white gloves and green boots. "Wow, these clothes are really kind of cool!" she said, smiling.

"Mine're cooler," said Daisuke, who was starting to get over his initial shock. He placed his hands on his hips and looked at his outfit again, grinning. "Yeah, definitely cooler."

"It's so-so," Miyako said rather matter-of-factly. "Mine are cooler."

"Mine're the coolest!"

"Look at mine!" Iori pointed at his own outfit. "They aren't half bad either, right?"

Sora and Taichi looked at the three new Chosen in disbelief. "Wha?! They get cool new outfits too?" Taichi exclaimed. "I officially feel cheated out! We didn't get cool outfits when _we_ went to the Digital World."

"They're so different... I wonder if it's because they're a younger generation," Sora wondered aloud.

Hikari giggled. "Please, don't sound like an old lady," she said.

"It looks to me like Iori-kun's theory was correct," said Takeru. "Having these new Digivices gives them these outfits too... though I'm not sure why."

"Hey, Takeru-san!" Iori called out to the blond boy. "Are we going to look for our Digimon now?"

"Uh, yeah, that's a good idea," said Takeru. "I guess they would be at the pyramid... do you remember how to get there?"

The younger boy blinked. "Uh... I don't," he admitted. "This is definitely the same place from yesterday, but I don't remember where to go from here."

"I don't remember either..." Hikari mumbled.

Takeru's face fell. "Aw, man, I was really hoping you guys would remember where to go!"

Daisuke raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you guys don't where to go? So we're lost?!"

At that moment, something in Miyako's pants pocket started beeping. Puzzled, she dug into her pocket and retrieved her Digivice. A blinking red dot appeared on the top-right corner of the small device. Daisuke and Iori pulled out their own Digivices. The red dot appeared on their Digivices too, at the exact same spot on the screen.

"Huh? What's this all about?" Miyako inquired.

Taichi and Sora looked at each other, and pulled out their own Digivices. However, their gadgets' screens were blank. "What the heck... ours aren't reacting," Taichi mumbled, shaking his Digivice slightly.

"Ours aren't either," said Takeru as he checked his Digivice. Hikari pocketed her Digivice, shaking her head.

"Let's follow it," Iori said briskly.

The older kids looked at him. "What're you talkin' about?" Daisuke asked, scrunching his nose. "S'just a red dot."

"This red dot is trying to show us the way." Iori turned around, pointing his Digivice to the opposite direction. The red dot on its screen changed its location; it was now on the bottom-left of the screen, pointing at the exact direction Iori pointed the Digivice at before.

"Oh! Like a compass!" Miyako said in excitement.

Takeru grabbed his head with one hand. "Now I remember! This really was the direction our Digimon led us to yesterday!"

"Good call, Iori-kun," said Hikari, smiling. "It's easy to see why you received the Digimental of Knowledge!"

"Eheh, it's nothing..." Iori said, rubbing the back of his head timidly.

Taichi chuckled. "Well," he said, putting his hands together, "now that we know where to go... New Kids, lead the way."

O

Following the red dot proved to be a wise decision, as the group reached the pyramid a short time later. They scaled the great stone monument, figuring that their best bet was to climb and check the second Digimental. As they reached the pedestals at the top, they were in for a pleasant surprise; Tailmon and Patamon were there, as well as Armadimon and another Digimon, a child-sized pink bird with a red beak and a shackle on her leg.

Takeru beamed. "Hey! You're all here!"

"Iori!" Armadimon ran up to Iori. "I'm glad to see you da'gya!"

Iori laughed, hugging his partner. "I'm glad to see you too, Armadimon."

As Takeru and Hikari were reunited with their own Digimon, the bird Digimon ran into Sora's arms. "Sora!"

"Oh, Piyomon!" Sora embraced her Digimon partner tightly. "I wanted to see you so much..."

"Me too..." whispered Piyomon, returning the hug.

"Huh, I thought Agumon'd be here," Taichi mused, looking around the small room. "And Tentomon?"

"They're both searching for a signal we received deeper in the forest," Tailmon explained. "They'll call us if it's anything important."

"Hey, just what ARE you guys?"

Daisuke and Miyako looked at the four Digimon with wide eyes. Daisuke in particular had a hard time keeping his mouth closed, and gaped at the Digimon in shock. "These are Digimon?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah, these are our Digimon partners," Hikari confirmed.

"Armadimon's my partner!" Iori patted Armadimon's tough shell proudly.

"They're monsters? They're too... too cute to be monsters!" said Miyako.

"We're not just cute da'gya!" Armadimon cried.

Taichi smirked. "The armadillo's right. They may look cute, but don't be fooled! Our Digimon can pack a punch."

"There are other Digimon who're much bigger," said Takeru.

"And scarier," Hikari added.

"Huh... and what are they all doing in this place?" Miyako asked.

"We're trying to find any Digicode that could explain what these Digimentals are all about," said Piyomon.

"We haven't found anything yet, but we're optimistic!" chirped Patamon.

"Digimentals?" Miyako raised her eyebrows. "Takeru-kun and Iori-kun said something about that... what are they?"

"We're not completely sure, ourselves," said Tailmon, pointing at the white object that remained on the pedestal. "Armadimon came from under the Digimental of Knowledge that was on the other pedestal, and then he used the Digimental to evolve. We have no idea how that works, though..."

Sora stepped up to the pedestal and examined the Digimental. "That really is the Crest of Love... should I try to move it?"

Taichi hummed. "Well, Koushirou couldn't move the Digimental of Knowledge. But I say it's worth a shot."

Sora nodded and encircled the Digimental with her hands. She then pulled hard, shutting her eyes tight in concentration. This went on for a few seconds until she finally gave up and removed her hands from the artifact. "I can't do it," she sighed. "But if Iori could pick up the Digimental of Knowledge..." she looked at Daisuke and Miyako. "I guess one of you could be more successful. Miyako-chan, how about you try?"

"Hey, what about me?!" Daisuke protested, clenching his fists. "I wanna try too!"

"Oh, relax," Miyako waved him off. "You'll get to try too if I can't pull it off. Not that I won't," she added, giving him a cheeky grin. Daisuke growled and crossed his arms stubbornly as Miyako walked over to the pedestal.

"Careful, Miyako-san! Don't use all your strength at first," Iori warned as Miyako rubbed her hands together in preparation. "I fell over when I moved my Digimental."

Miyako waved at him. "Thanks for the advice, Iori-kun!" She placed her hands on the object. "Right, here goes!" With that, she pulled the Digimental of Love right off the pedestal with ease.

Everyone stared silently. "Just like Iori..." Takeru mumbled.

"Wha... that really was easy!" Miyako said in awe as she examined the white object.

With that, a column of red light rose from the pedestal all the way up to the ceiling. In the middle of the column appeared a small, bird-like figure with brown feathers, its small arm-like wings crossed over its face. The bird lowered its wings, revealing its white-feathered head and the belt it wore, wrapped around its forehead like a headband. It looked at a startled Miyako with its bright blue eyes and flew out of the light and onto the floor, calling out energetically as it did. It bowed before Miyako.

"My name is Hawkmon," it said politely in a deep, serious voice. "I've have been waiting for you. May I ask for your name?"

"M-Miyako..." Miyako stuttered, hesitant at the sight of the hawk Digimon.

"Ah, Miyako-san! I look forward to fighting with you."

"Fight?! W-waitaminute!" Miyako squeaked, looking ever so slightly freaked out.

"Wait, that's her Digimon and Digithingy?" Daisuke frowned. "So I don't get a Digimon and a Digithingy?"

Taichi patted Daisuke on the shoulder. "One thing at a time, Daisuke... one thing at a time."

"But he has a point," Tailmon mused. "We've searched this place the entire morning but we haven't found any other Digimentals. Iori and Miyako took the only ones that were here."

"There has to be another Digimental somewhere," said Takeru. "Daisuke didn't get his Digivice for no reason, right?"

Something in the room beeped. The children (with the exception of Miyako, who was a bit puzzled as to what to do with her new partner and the strange object she was holding in her hands) began fumbling in their pockets, but Taichi raised his arm. "My bad, guys, it's my D-Terminal," he said, pulling the rectangular device out of his green blazer and flipping it open. "Hey, a message from Koushirou!"

"Koushirou escaped Fujiyama-sensei's assault?" Sora asked half-jokingly.

"Yes, and he's going to kill me for it later." Taichi scrolled down through the message. "And... well, will you look at that! Daisuke, guess you're getting a Digimon after all! Agumon and Tentomon managed to send Koushirou a message. They found something that could be a Digimental."

Daisuke pumped his fist in the air and whooped. "Alright, I get a Digimon too!"

"He sent me the coordinates... huh, funny." Taichi smiled, amused. "The D-Terminal actually made a little map of the area. Convenient! Hey, ready those Terminals, I'll pass the map on to you guys."

Iori pulled his own D-Terminal out of his pocket. "The D-Terminal stores my Digimental, too," he said. "It's kind of like it's interacting with the Digital World."

"I really want to know why it does that," Takeru wondered as he retrieved his D-Terminal.

"Why indeed..." Iori mumbled to himself.

O

Reaching their next destination was an easy task now that they were provided with a map. Within minutes of walking into the woods, they reached another clearing. A blinking spot on the map pointed out that this was the place.

"Okay, now what?" Daisuke asked. "When do I meet my Digimon?"

"Be patient, Daisuke," said Takeru. "I don't think we're in the exact spot. We would've seen Agumon and Tentomon if we were."

Daisuke frowned. "Just my luck," he muttered.

"Don't worry, Daisuke, we'll find your Digimental soon," Hikari assured. "The map led us here, it's probably close."

"This place looks promising." Tailmon pointed at the opening of a cave nearby.

"No better place to hide an important artifact than a cave," said Taichi cheerfully.

Entering the cave, they found themselves in a small, hive-shaped chamber with craggy walls. It was well-lit, despite the fact that the only source of light was the beam of sunlight coming from the small hole at the top of the chamber. The beam shone down on the middle of the room, where two familiar figures were inspecting something.

"Agumon, Tentomon!" Piyomon called out. "We're here!"

Agumon turned around, blinking. His confused expression quickly disappeared as he saw Taichi. "Taichi!!!" he exclaimed and ran over to his Chosen partner, arms spread and a huge grin on his face.

"Hey, Agumon!" Taichi knelt and grabbed his Digimon for a hug. "It's been too long, buddy!"

Daisuke scratched his head. "Uh. That's Taichi's Digimon?"

"He certainly is," Tentomon confirmed. Daisuke yelped as he realized the beetle Digimon was flying right in front of his face. "So, these are the other new Chosen Children?"

Takeru nodded. "Yup. That's Daisuke, and this is Miyako." He pointed at the purple-haired girl, who glanced at Hawkmon uneasily every now and then.

"Welcome to the Digital World!" Agumon greeted them. "So which one of you doesn't have a Digimon yet?"

"That's me!" Daisuke pointed at himself, suddenly looking very eager. "So where's my Digimon? Where is it?"

"If we're right, it would be right there," said Tentomon, gesturing at an elevated section of the ground in the middle of the room. On a small rock was an egg-like object adorned with a flame pattern. A small, jagged blade protruded from its side. The children walked up to get a closer look.

"Hey, isn't that..." Sora started, pointing at a peculiar sun-like symbol on the egg's surface.

"Yup, the Crest of Courage!" Agumon confirmed. "That's why we think it's another Digimental!"

"Could be," said Taichi. "Seeing what happened to Koushirou and Sora, I'm assuming it wouldn't make any difference if I tried to pick it up, so..." he grinned at Daisuke. "All yours, Daisuke."

Daisuke looked like he could just about explode of excitement. "Alright, it's up to me!" he exclaimed, rubbing his hands together. "Everyone, stand back! Time for Motomiya Daisuke to shine!" He crouched, adjusting his goggles, looking determined.

"Uh, Daisuke-san..." Iori tried to speak, but Daisuke shushed him.

"No, not while the master is preparing!" Daisuke warned. He stuck his tongue out and wiggled his fingers. He placed his hands on the Digimental and pulled with all his might, and proceeded to fall back with the Digimental in his hands. The others tried to suppress their laugher as Daisuke sat up, rubbing his backside in pain.

Taichi sniggered. "Like Iori was trying to say, that... really wasn't necessary."

Daisuke blushed. "Well, I was jus' thinkin', you know, if it wasn't really a Digimental or not mine or somethin'... you have to be prepared for these things!"

At that moment, a great column of orange light erupted from a hole the Digiemental left in the small rock, all the way up to the top of the chamber. Just like before, a small Digimon appeared in the middle of the column, curled up into a ball. It was blue and looked somewhat like a humanoid lizard, with a long tail, a large, round head, and strange conical ears. There was a yellow V-shaped marking on its forehead. No one was particularly surprised, but Daisuke nevertheless looked shocked.

The Digimon opened its eyes to look at Daisuke, and promptly jumped out of the column and started skipping around Daisuke in circles. "Yahoo, yahoo! You moved the Digimental!!" it called out energetically.

Daisuke just blinked, dumbfounded.

Finally, the Digimon stopped, and smiled at him. "I'm V-mon," it said, extending one of his clawed hands to Daisuke. "Who're you?"

"D-Daisuke," the boy uttered, his eyes wide.

"Nice to meet'cha, Daisuke!" V-mon said, the chipper tone of his voice signifying that he was truly happy to meet Daisuke. "I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

"Waiting for me..." Daisuke repeated weakly.

"Yeah!" V-mon nodded. "I've been waiting for the kid that could move the Digimental of Courage!"

"Which would be you, Daisuke," said Taichi, grinning. "Like I said, all that preparation wasn't necessary. It was obviously yours all along."

Daisuke opened his mouth to speak, but as the earth started shaking and small rocks started raining down on the middle of the cave, all he could say was, "Wh-what the heck is that?!"

"Earthquake?" Sora asked urgently.

"No, look!" Hikari cried, pointing at the hole in the top of the chamber. A giant green insect with scythes for hands was tearing down at the rock and expanding the hole, growling and snarling.

"Snimon!" Piyomon exclaimed.

"Is it controlled by that Digimon Kaiser guy or is it just mad at us?" Miyako wondered aloud, sounding nervous.

Taichi groaned. "Does it matter? It looks angry either way! Let's get out of here!"

Daisuke scrambled to his feet and rushed to join the others as they ran out of the cave. They were in for an unwelcome surprise, however, as the first thing they saw outside were a humanoid with fuzzy white fur covering its entire body and a gigantic, mole-like creature with purple and cream fur and drills serving as its nose and claws. The red glow of their eyes and the dark rings on the humanoid's arm and the mole's front leg left no room for speculation; they were enslaved by the Digimon Kaiser.

"Mojamon and Drimogemon too... oh, this is bad!" Tentomon cried, waving his clawed arms frantically.

"It's okay, Tentomon! It's three against three!" Agumon said, grinning with confidence.

Miyako gave him an incredulous look. "_Three_? But who...?" It dawned on her a moment later, and she shrieked. "What? No, I don't want to fight!!"

"Miyako-san, we must fight!" said Hawkmon firmly. "Just say 'Digimental up', and I will be able to protect everyone!"

"You too, Daisuke!" said V-mon, his fists clenched in determination. "Say 'Digimental up' and I'll fight!"

Daisuke just gave him a blank stare. "Buh? You want me to use this thing?" He looked at the flame-patterned egg in his hand.

"There's no time!" Iori shouted, looking behind them. "Snimon's coming!"

True enough, the giant insect gave up on getting to them through the cave and was now descending from above. They could now see the Evil Ring above its abdomen. Before they could do anything, Snimon drew ones of its giant scythes back and unleashed a blade-like flash of energy that exploded on the ground, blowing the children and their Digimon in all directions.

O

Daisuke was the first to pull himself together a few seconds later. He looked around, to find that Taichi and Hikari and their Digimon were with him. It seemed like the blast caused them to roll down the cliff. He was still holding the Digimental of Courage in one hand.

"Damn... are you two okay?" Taichi asked the younger two, standing up.

"I think... my ankle hurts a bit," Hikari admitted, rubbing it.

The Mojamon closed on them, preparing an icy spear. Tailmon narrowed her eyes. "If Hikari can't move, we're in big trouble."

"It's all up to us, Daisuke!" cried V-mon. "Give me your courage so I can fight! Say 'Digimental up'!"

_It's up to us..._ Daisuke looked at his partner, and then at Taichi and Hikari. Taichi was right about it not being a game. This was real... his friends were in real danger. And so was this world... _Well, whoever this Kaiser guy is, _Daisuke thought, eyebrows furrowed, _I'm not going to just stand back and let him do what he wants!_

He stood up, holding the Digimental of Courage tight with both hands. If he was right, all it would take to save everyone was one phrase. Daisuke was willing to do even more than that, but for now, that would probably do. "Right, let's go, V-mon!" he cried.

V-mon grinned, clenching his fists in determination. "Okay! I'm counting on you, Daisuke!"

O

Not far from Daisuke, Miyako sat up, feeling a bit dizzy. She was very grateful for the Digital World's courtesy of providing her with a helmet. Of course, when she saw Snimon advancing, its wings buzzing menacingly, she decided to take that gratitude back. What had she got herself into...?

"Miyako-san!" She turned to see Hawkmon, who looked prepared for battle. "Please say 'Digimental up' so I can fight!"

"B-but I don't know how to fight..." Miyako stammered.

"Ouya... that could be a problem," the small bird Digimon mumbled.

Miyako felt a hand on her shoulder and looked back at Sora, startled.

"It's okay," said Sora. "Mimi-chan said the same thing... and I didn't like fighting either. But we wanted our friends to be safe, so we fought to the best of our abilities. And I'm sure you can do the same." She smiled reassuringly. "Do your best, Miyako-chan!"

Miyako still wasn't sure she could fight and be of any help to the others, but something about the warmth of Sora's hand on her shoulder and the sheer determination in the battle stance Hawkmon assumed that made something in her stomach stir.

She stood up, picking the Digimental of Love off the ground as she did.

For the sake of her friends' safety, she would do it or die trying.

She really hoped the "die trying" part wouldn't play a factor in this battle.

O

"Iori..." Takeru muttered, looking at the younger boy, who quickly jumped to his feet at the sight of the approaching Drimogemon.

Iori nodded. "I know, Takeru-san!" He looked at his Digimon and raised his Digivice. "Ready, Armadimon?"

"Ready da'gya!"

O

"_Digimental UP!_"

The voices of Daisuke, Miyako and Iori rang through the air, and their Digimon were engulfed in bright light, their forms changing.

"_V-mon, Armor Evolution! Burning Courage, Fladramon!_"

"_Hawkmon, Armor Evolution! The Wings of Love, Horusmon!_"

"_Armadimon, Armor Evolution! Steel Knowledge, Digmon!_"

Three armored Digimon now stood in three corners of the clearing. V-mon was now tall and slim, wearing a mask, clawed gauntlets, and armor on his chest, thighs and feet, all with the flame pattern of the Digimental of Courage. The blade which protruded from the Digimental was now protruding from the new Digimon's mask. Hawkmon now stood on four clawed feet, and his white, eagle-like head and back were covered by a white helmet with large, wing-like attachments that gave him some resemblance to a jet. They were joined by Digmon, his arm drills spinning.

Daisuke and Miyako gaped at their evolved Digimon. "Whoa..." was all Daisuke managed to say.

"Destroy the black rings dagaya!" Digmon called out. "Then they'll be normal again!"

"Got it!" Fladramon nodded.

"Roger." Horusmon nodded as well. "Come, Miyako, climb on my back!"

"O-okay!" Miyako did as her partner said, despite her misgivings. For whatever reason, riding on the back of a giant bird-horse seemed like something too good to pass up.

"Hold on tight!" Horusmon cried as he took off, flying at Snimon.

Meanwhile, Drimogemon started digging into the ground. "Don't let him attack from underground, Digmon!" Iori called out. Digmon nodded and bent over, drilling into the earth.

Mojamon was the first to launch an attack. "Icicle Spear!" it yelled, launching its spear at Fladramon.

The armored Digimon smirked. "Ice versus flame, huh," he said, catching the arriving spear with his claws, which turned red hot. Within seconds, the spear melted. Mojamon's glowing red eyes widened with horror and it backed away.

"Awesome!" Daisuke exclaimed. "Now attack his black ring!"

Fladramon nodded and jumped into the air. Flames started engulfing his form. "FIRE ROCKET!" he yelled, charging head first at Mojamon. It cried as Fladramon made contact, falling over. Fladramon landed on his feet behind the fallen Mojamon, the flames around him dying out. The ring around Mojamon's arm was gone.

"All right! Good job, Fladramon!" Daisuke cheered.

In the sky, Horusmon was charging at Snimon. The giant insect made chopping movements with its scythes, sending blades of dark energy at Horusmon. The bird Digimon rolled in the air to avoid them. Though she was holding on very tight, Miyako couldn't keep herself from screaming at the top of her lungs.

As they got closer to Snimon, the front of each of Horusmon's wings was glowing red. "Mach Impulse!" her Digimon yelled, and two blades of red energy shot straight at Snimon. Horusmon maneuvered to escape any potential counterattack from Snimon, and Miyako saw his attack hitting the giant bug's torso and destroying the black ring as she was hanging from her Digimon's back upside down.

Horusmon shifted to his original position and flew over Snimon's head, watching as the uncorrupted Digimon looked around, confused. "Way to go, Horusmon!" Miyako complimented her Digimon, truly impressed. "Just, uh, one thing?"

"Yes, Miyako-san?"

"Please don't roll like that with me on your back again..."

Underground, Drimogemon dug into a tunnel it didn't expect to find. Digmon's presence in the tunnel explained its existence.

"Gold... RUSH!" Digmon fired his drills at Drimogemon, who cried in alarm. The attack was successful; Drimogemon's black ring was destroyed instantly.

O

After sending the apologetic Digimon off, the Chosen gathered.

"That was so cool, what you did there," said Daisuke as he shook V-mon's hand. "Bet you're going to be the best partner ever!"

"Same to you!" V-mon grinned.

"Miyako-san, can I depend on you to give me your power?" Hawkmon asked his partner.

"Of course!" Miyako smiled, putting a hand on Hawkmon's wing. "I'll always be with you, you're my partner!"

Sora looked at Taichi. "They'll have to work to fill our absence, right?"

"No way!" Taichi cried. "We're still Chosen Children, and we know what the Digital World's like!" He put a hand on his chest. "It's up to us to help these kids in any way we can!"

"That's right, Sora!" Piyomon agreed. "They'll still need our help."

"And we cannot fall back behind the young ones," added Tentomon.

Sora nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

"Hey, Daisuke, what happened to your goggles?" Takeru asked suddenly, pointing at the goggles on Daisuke's forehead. "They're broken!"

"Huh?" Daisuke pulled his goggles over his head and looked at them, making a face as he saw the mess of broken glass and twisted metal they had become. He didn't even notice his precious goggles were broken... _They probably broke when I landed after Snimon's attack_, he reflected, clutching them tightly and grimacing.

Taichi hummed. "I think I know what to do about that."

Daisuke gasped as the older boy took his round goggles off, leaving nothing on his forehead but his headband, and placed the goggles in Daisuke free hand.

"But... they're yours!" Daisuke mumbled, wide-eyed and flabbergasted.

"Yours now," Taichi said. "These goggles have been through a lot, but I think another adventure wouldn't hurt them. C'mon, put 'em on!" he urged Daisuke with a grin.

Slowly, Daisuke put his old goggles in his pocket and placed Taichi's goggles on his forehead, adjusting them to fit his head.

"They look good, Daisuke!" Hikari complimented him.

"Ah, you really think so, Hikari-chan?" he asked, goofily pleased with her reaction.

V-mon nodded. "They really fit you, Daisuke!" he said earnestly.

"Looking like a hero already," Taichi laughed, ruffling Daisuke's frizzy hair. Daisuke blushed, but looked more flattered than embarrassed.

"It's getting late," observed Sora, looking at the sky. Indeed, the sun was starting to set, coloring the digital sky orange and pink.

"Shouldn't you go back, then?" Piyomon asked.

"Well, if you know where we can find another TV..." Iori looked at the Digimon hopefully.

"You're in luck!" said Tentomon. "Agumon and I found a television set not far from here!"

"Don't worry, we'll take you there!" Agumon exclaimed. "Follow us!"

O

There was a loud crash and several cries of pain as the children crashed on the floor of the computer room. Koushirou just barely avoided them, and stared at the squirming heap with wide eyes.

"That was close," he breathed. "Wait – hold on! Did you bring your Digimon with you?!"

"Huh...?" Daisuke looked up, and proceeded to yelp as he spotted a tiny blue creature with a giant head, a white face and huge brown eyes. The small appendages on the top of its head were just like V-mon's. In fact, the creature looked a bit like a tiny V-mon.

"Oh, how cute!" Miyako hugged a pink, fluffy ball with little wings, a shiny beak, and a little red and yellow feather sticking out from its top.

"We didn't bring them here, they just followed us," said Takeru. He looked up at Patamon, who was sitting on his fisherman hat.

"Why do they look like this?" asked Iori, who was just looking at the small, cream-colored ball with fan-like ears that was his Digimon in amazement.

"They returned to their Baby forms," Hikari explained.

"But why do we look the same?" Patamon wondered, looking at Tailmon's tail sticking out from the bottom of the pile with some concern.

"Maybe because you have different Digivices," Taichi offered.

"But where are the others?" Sora asked, looking around.

"Hey, everyone!"

Everyone looked at the computer screen, where the gate program was still open. Agumon, Piyomon and Tentomon appeared on the tiny screen.

"We'll keep a lookout here, don't worry!" said Agumon, saluting.

"We're going to try finding out about the Digimon Kaiser," added Piyomon.

Tentomon nodded. "We will keep you informed, in case we will find anything noteworthy."

Koushirou nodded. "Right. Just be careful, okay?"

Suddenly, they heard a muffled sound that sounded suspiciously like "need air" and came from the bottom of the pile. Everyone scrambled off to give Tailmon some space.

"We _have_ to learn how to land right," Hikari mumbled, rubbing the back of her head as Tailmon tried to regain her breath.

O

"I'm home!" Hiroki announced as he entered the apartment, taking off his hat.

"Welcome back," Fumiko greeted him from the kitchen. "How was work?"

"Same old," Hiroki called back as he took off his coat and shoes. "Can't tell you much, though that case we were working on is starting to look serious." He made his way through the living room into the kitchen. "Where's dad?"

"Down at Inoue's store," Fumiko replied, opening a drawer to retrieve a plastic rice paddle. "He's out of yogurt."

Hiroki snickered. "Can't live without yogurt packets, can he? And Iori?"

"He's not here yet," she sighed, opening the lid of the rice cooker and letting the steam out. "I'm glad he's spending more time with friends, but when I know he's in the Digital World..."

"Then you should know he's fine," Hiroki smiled at her. "I just hope he'll come back in time for dinner."

"I hope he won't make it a habit," Fumiko said. "I can always keep some rice warm for him, but I'd rather have the entire family eating dinner together."

Someone knocked on the door. "I'll get it," said Hiroki, patting his wife on the shoulder. "Maybe you just got your wish. Well, unless it's a heavily jetlagged Yukio coming in to beg for anything other than airplane food. Then _I'd_ get my wish."

He left the kitchen and walked back to the door, opening it. Outside stood Iori, looking flushed and excited, his arms wrapped around something round and cream-colored. "I'm home, dad!" he exclaimed.

"Welcome home, kid!" Hiroki grinned, ruffling the boy's hair. "How was your second day in the Digital World?"

"It was amazing," Iori replied as he walked into the apartment. He knelt down, undoing the straps on his blue hiking boots with one hand, keeping the other hand wrapped around the round object. "I'll tell you everything during dinner, you won't believe Daisuke-san and Miyako-san's Digimon!"

"Iori!" Fumiko came to them, smiling. "I'm so glad you're here! Your grandfather should be back soon and we'll all sit down for dinner."

Iori smiled up at his mother as he pulled his boots off. "Great, I'm really hungry!"

"So, what's that in your arm?" Hiroki asked.

Iori looked hesitant. "Uh... well, I thought to introduce you to him during dinner, but I suppose I can't keep him quiet for that long."

"Introduce him?" Fumiko asked, puzzled.

"Wait, you don't mean..." Hiroki's jaw dropped as realization hit him.

The boy grinned at his parents and stood up. "Dad, mom... I'd like you to meet Upamon, my Digimon partner." He held the round object out, and suddenly it had fan-like ears and small, dark eyes and a wide mouth that was smiling at them.

"Are you Iori's mom and dad? It's really nice to meet you da'gya!" it said.

Fumiko jumped back, startled. "It... it talked!" she cried, grabbing onto her husband's shirt.

"And he really does speak in a Nagoya dialect," Hiroki whispered, beaming.

**To Be Continued...**


	3. Boku no Tomodachi

**Disclaimer:**'Tis the disclaimer that never ends! I still don't own Digimon!

Many apologies for the long time between chapters, I was attacked by a vicious Writer's Block.

**Digimon: Butterfly**

By Lord Puppetmon

**Chapter 2: Boku no Tomodachi (My Friend)**

"So Fladramon and Horusmon fought the Tyranomon, and Digmon covered for us, and we ran into this little cave. Do you know what we found?"

"I have no idea."

"Two Digimentals da'gya!"

"Two Digimentals?" Fumiko repeated, taking her eyes off the vegetables she was chopping to glance at her son and his Digimon. Iori and Upamon had insisted on telling her of their daily adventure in the Digital World while she made dinner. "I thought only three of you have the new Digivices."

"Yeah, that was true until today," said Iori. "But Takeru-san and Hikari-san's Digivices reacted to the Digimentals, so now they have the new Digivices and Digital World clothes too!"

"Oh, I see! So Patamon and Tailmon can Armor Evolve too?"

Iori nodded. "Patamon can evolve into Pegasmon now, and Tailmon can evolve into Nefertimon. They're a winged horse and a sphinx, they look _really_ cool. Oh, and guess what! Takeru-san let me ride Pegasmon with him!" He beamed. "It was _awesome_!"

Upamon stopped munching on the melonpan Fumiko gave him earlier and glared at his human partner, who quickly added, "of course, they're nowhere near as awesome as Digmon." Iori smiled at his Digimon. "And I really mean it." Satisfied with Iori's answer, Upamon nodded and resumed eating.

"In any case, they really helped us out with those Tyranomon," Iori continued. "So now we have five Armor Digimon who can give the Digimon Kaiser a fight!"

Fumiko smiled at the two. "So your team is all ready and set?"

"You bet dagaya!" exclaimed Upamon in a muffled voice, mouth full of melonpan.

Iori grinned proudly. "Yeah, I think we got it covered. He's going to have to work real hard to bring us down."

His mother chuckled. "Well, it's great to hear that the Digital World is in good hands. Now, since you've finished your story, do you think you could help me set the table?"

Iori was about to answer when the doorbell rang. Fumiko started undoing the strings on the back of her apron, but Iori jumped off his chair and held his hand up to stop her. "No, mom, it's okay, I'll get it," he said, and rushed out of the kitchen towards the entrance. He unlocked the door and opened it slightly, peeping outside. Upon recognizing the person standing outside, he pushed the door wide open, breaking into a wide grin. "Mummymon!"

"Hey, Iori! How's it going?" Mummymon grinned back, giving him a short wave. At first glance, Mummymon seemed like a handsome young man; only his tousled silvery-white hair and golden eyes hinted at his not-quite-human nature. He had broad shoulders, a narrow waist and was over two meters tall, towering well over Iori.

Elated, Iori practically launched himself at Mummymon's waist, making the man laugh. "Whoa, looks like someone missed me!" He beamed, kneeling to Iori's level to hug him back.

"Of course I did!" Iori exclaimed when Mummymon let go. "I haven't seen you all week! Or Arukenimon... where is she?"

"Here." The speaker, a beautiful young woman with long bluish-white hair and pale skin, stepped up from behind the open door to reveal herself. Unlike Mummymon, she didn't look very happy, frowning and crossing her arms. Despite this, Iori smiled and ran over to hug her as well, but Arukenimon extended an arm and blocked him. "No hugs, please. I am _not_ in the mood."

Disappointed, Iori glanced back at Mummymon. "Bad day?"

Mummymon stood up, looking a bit awkward. "Oh, I wouldn't say bad, myself. I think what bothered Arukenimon was that it was a bit... uneventful."

"More like flat-out _boring_," said Arukenimon bluntly. "We spent all day guarding the Village of Beginnings. What's to guard? No one ever bothers attacking the place anyway! And we had to listen to Elecmon lecturing about the correct way to ensure the babies' safety or something for two hours... talk about a waste of time," she muttered.

Iori raised an eyebrow. Mummymon just shrugged.

"And I bet Hiroki-san isn't here to pick up the stupid chip we're supposed to deliver to him." She fixed her bright golden eyes on Iori, who was shifting uncomfortably. "So I'm right?" When he nodded, she glared at Mummymon. "I told you."

"Aw, don't worry about it," said Mummymon, patting her shoulder. "I'm sure Fumiko-san will give it to him when he comes back."

"Mummymon-kun! Arukenimon-chan!"

Arukenimon stiffened as Fumiko appeared at the doorstep. Iori stifled a giggle; Arukenimon hated it when honorifics were applied to her, but his mother never really caught on. "I should have known this was why Iori didn't come back," Fumiko said with a smile. "What a pleasant surprise!"

Mummymon rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Ah, good evening, Fumiko-san! We're sorry to bother you right before dinner..."

"Oh, not at all, you know you're always welcome in our house," she assured him. "What brings you here?"

"Oikawa-san got this chip in America and he wanted us to deliver it to Hiroki-san," explained Mummymon.

"But we can just drop it off and go," offered Arukenimon, looking hopeful.

"Wait, you can't go yet!" Iori protested. "I have something really neat to show you!"

"Oh! In that case, I suppose we can stay here for a while," said Mummymon. He smiled at Arukenimon. "Right, Arukeni?"

She frowned, and then shrugged. "Eh. Not like we have anything better to do."

Iori grinned. "Great, let's go! Oh, wait..." His face fell as he looked at his mother. "I have to help you set the table..."

Fumiko stroked his hair. "Don't worry, Iori, it's nothing I can't handle by myself. Besides, I know you can't wait to show him off." She smiled knowingly.

Iori's face brightened. "Really?"

She nodded.

"Alright! Thanks, mom!" the boy cheered. "Come on, guys!" he grabbed Arukenimon's hand and led her inside, Mummymon following suit.

O

After Arukenimon and Mummymon took off their shoes, he led them to his room. He made sure that Upamon followed them unnoticed and got in safely before he closed the door. "Please, sit down, make yourselves comfortable," he said, gesturing at his bed.

Arukenimon sat on the small bed and leaned back on the wall, crossing her arms and looking very unimpressed. "If it's about school, I'm leaving," she warned.

Mummymon sat next to her, struggling to find a comfortable position for his long legs. "Arukeni, don't be so quick to dismiss the idea that something interesting could happen in school! But..." he gave Iori a quizzical look. "Wait, is it about school?"

"No," said Iori. "Hold on, I'll show you." He walked up to Upamon, who was trying to be very quiet and still by the door, and picked him up. Turning back to Arukenimon and Mummymon, he smiled and held Upamon out. "Okay, guys, this is it!"

The two simply stared at Upamon. After a moment of silence, Arukenimon spoke. "So, you dragged us here, acting all excited, to show us your new _plushy_?" she inquired venomously, narrowing her eyes.

Iori shook his head. "I know he kind of looks like one, but he's not a plushy." He looked at the small Digimon in his hands. "It's alright, Upamon, you can speak now."

Upamon remained still.

"So... you gave your plushy a Digimon name? Is that it?" Mummymon guessed.

Iori sighed, shaking his head again. "Upamon," he addressed his Digimon again, "do you remember those half human, half Digimon hybrids I told you about yesterday? The ones my dad and his friend created to help their research?" He nodded in Arukenimon and Mummymon's direction. "That's them."

After a moment, Upamon opened his wide mouth to speak. "Hi! You're really Iori's friends?"

Mummymon smacked his fist into his palm. "Aha, I see what you're trying to do!" he exclaimed. "You're training to become a ventriloquist, aren't you?"

Iori looked exasperated. "What?! But-"

"I have to admit, you're pretty good," said Arukenimon, eying the small Digimon curiously. "I didn't even see your mouth move."

"But Upamon is not a dummy!" Iori protested and stepped forward, outstretching his arms to give Arukenimon and Mummymon a better look at Upamon. "See? He's a real Digimon!"

"That's right da'gya!" cried Upamon.

Mummymon chuckled. "That's Nagoya dialect, right? You're really pulling it off!"

"Hiroki-san ordered it, right?" Arukenimon asked, pointing at Upamon. "He and Oikawa-san ordered custom-made things for their experiments before. What are they going to do with this one after you finish playing around with it?"

"It'd be a good place to hide a security camera," said Mummymon. "Didn't Oikawa-san say something about installing one in the Village of Beginnings?"

"Now that you mention it..."

Iori groaned. "Ugh, you don't get it! He's really a real Digimon! Why do you find it so hard to believe?!"

"Because Hiroki-san and Oikawa-san can't open Digital Gates," Mummymon pointed out.

"And while we _can_ open Digital Gates, we can't bring anyone to the Real World or vice-versa with us," Arukenimon continued her partner's line of thought. "Also... if your plushy is supposed to look like a real Digimon, it's not very convincing," she added, waving her hand dismissively

"Not very convincing?!" Iori cried in disbelief.

Arukenimon leaned forward and reached for Upamon, poking his snout. "It doesn't even feel real... too rubbery. And the fur is obviously synthetic, it's too soft to be a Digimon's fur." She proceeded to tug on one of Upamon's fan-like ears. "And the ears are too elastic to be believable."

All the poking proved too much for the small Digimon, who screamed and unleashed a stream of pink bubbles that hit Arukenimon right in the face. She yelped and fell back, the back of her head hitting the wall on the way.

"Arukenimon!" Mummymon gasped. He helped Arukenimon sit up and promptly started fretting over her. "Oh, pumpkin, are you okay? Can I see? You're not bleeding, are you?" He sent a hand to the back of her head, but Arukenimon pushed it away and grumbled, tentatively feeling the sore spot.

Iori winced. "I'm... really sorry about that, on Upamon's behalf." He bowed his head apologetically. "He was just... distressed, that's all. He didn't mean to hurt you."

Upamon scowled.

"Although it really wasn't nice of you to poke him like that," he added.

"So it _is_ a real Digimon, is it...?" Arukenimon muttered.

"Thanks for noticing da'gya!" Upamon shouted.

Iori sighed. "That's what I've been trying to tell you."

Mummymon stared at Upamon, astonished. "You mean those were Acid Bubbles?" he asked, looking at Arukenimon.

"No kidding," she said, rubbing her cheek. "Normal bubbles don't sting like this."

Mummymon leaned in closer to get a better look at her face. "Your cheek really is getting a bit red," he observed.

"Ugh," she complained, pushing him away.

"I'm sorry..." Iori apologized again.

"But Iori, where did you get him?" Mummymon asked. "Has Hiroki-san found a way to bring Digimon from the Digital World?"

Iori shook his head. "Nope. I brought him with me."

"_You_ brought him with you...?" Mummymon looked puzzled. Arukenimon raised an eyebrow, unconvinced.

Iori nodded. "Yeah, I brought him, with this." He took his Digivice out of his pocket and showed the two hybrids.

They stared.

"No," said Arukenimon in disbelief.

"Yes," the boy insisted.

"_You_?!" Mummymon exclaimed, his eyes wide.

"Yes!" Iori said, grinning.

"But why _you_, of all people?" Arukenimon wondered, shaking her head. "I mean, you're a decent kid and all, but..."

"Well, you can't say I haven't been in contact with Digimon," reasoned Iori. "I see two of them on an almost daily basis."

"But we're hybrids, we don't count!" cried Mummymon. "Well, at least, I think we don't..." he added hesitantly.

"Even if you don't count, you're not the first Digimon I've seen," said Iori. "Remember? Before dad and Oikawa-san created you? The Digital World appeared in the sky, and I saw the Digimon at Tokyo Bay. That's why dad and Oikawa-san got so motivated to contact the Digital World again in the first place."

Arukenimon and Mummymon nodded quietly. They couldn't argue with facts.

"When did you find out that you're a Chosen Child?" Mummymon asked.

"On the first day of school," Iori explained. "Turns out we can open a Digital Gate in our computer lab. I couldn't bring Upamon with me after my first trip to the Digital World, though."

"But he brought me back yesterday!" Upamon grinned. "I was so happy da'gya!"

"You're not the only new Chosen Child, are you?" asked Arukenimon.

Iori shook his head. "Nope. You know Inoue Miyako and Takaishi Takeru?"

Mummymon scratched his chin in thought. "They're... your neighbors, right? The girl with the purple hair and the blond kid that moved in last year?"

Arukenimon stared at him. "You bothered to remember all that...?"

Iori giggled. "Yeah, that's them. They're Chosen Children too, and..."

"And Daisuke and Hikari!" added Upamon.

"Yeah, they're Takeru-san's friends. Takeru-san and Hikari-san have actually been Chosen Children for several years... almost four, I think."

"I guess they chose you all to fight that Digimon Kaiser," said Mummymon. "He's been causing trouble for a while now, but he only became a real threat about a week ago."

"And now we're all over the place doing stupid guard duty," Arukenimon sneered. "You kids are lucky you get to fight him. I'd like to kick his ass, myself."

Mummymon gasped. "Arukenimon!"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't be such a prude. You want to do it too."

"Even if I do, I wouldn't use that expression! I mean, Iori..."

"Iori's a big boy, he can handle it. And I don't feel like sugarcoating anything when it comes to the Kaiser. That little bastard..."

"_Arukenimon_!"

Arukenimon groaned and was about to say something (Iori guessed she was going to throw more expletives in Mummymon's direction just to rouse him) when his father opened the door; it was obvious that he had just arrived, as he hadn't yet taken off his police jacket.

"Wow, Yukio wasn't kidding when he said Arukenimon was in a bad mood," Hiroki said, amused.

"H-Hiroki-san!" Arukenimon and Mummymon stammered.

"Welcome home, dad," Iori greeted his father, smiling.

"Welcome home!" echoed Upamon.

Hiroki walked in and ruffled his son's hair. "Hey there, Iori. And Upamon," he smiled at the Digimon. "So, how are you kids doing?" he nodded at Arukenimon and Mummymon. "Haven't seen you in a while. Enjoyed having the apartment to yourselves?"

"Y-yeah," Mummymon mumbled, his face flushing. Arukenimon looked vaguely uncomfortable as well, but was doing her best to look indifferent. Iori thought she was terrible at it.

"I see you've met Upamon!" Hiroki grinned. "He's a great little guy, isn't he?"

"Not really," Arukenimon grumbled, rubbing her reddened cheek. "The little _shuttlecock_ Acid Bubbled me."

Hiroki gave Upamon a scolding look. "Upamon, really."

"She pulled on his ears," explained Iori.

"Oh, I see!" said Hiroki, crossing his arms and nodding. "She deserved it, then."

"_Hey_!"

Iori, Mummymon and Upamon laughed. Arukenimon scowled and smacked the back of Mummymon's head. He just winced as she struck him and gave her an apologetic look.

"So, I've been told you have something for me," Hiroki said.

"Oh, right!" Mummymon pulled a small package from his pants pocket. "Oikawa-san asked us to deliver it to you. He's still jetlagged."

"Ah, thank you!" Hiroki reached for the package. "I really appreciate it, you know. I know you don't like acting as delivery 'mon. So, how bad is the jetlag this time? Yukio's never been good with flights."

Mummymon nodded. "I think he had a really bad flight this time. The first thing he did today when he came back from work was fall asleep on the couch."

"Sounds right," said Hiroki, chuckling. "Poor guy."

At that moment, they heard Fumiko calling from the kitchen. "Hiroki, dinner! Did you ask them yet?"

"Ask us what?" Arukenimon inquired.

"Oh, we just wanted to ask if you'll stay for dinner," said Hiroki. "I mean, you're already here, and we haven't had a meal together in a while. What do you say?"

Arukenimon got up. "I think I'll pass," she grumbled, walking past Hiroki and towards the door. "We've stayed too long, anyway."

Iori and Mummymon stood up at once, crying in protest.

"Wait, don't go!"

"Arukeni, why can't we stay?"

The glare she shot at them was so sharp that they immediately quieted down and bowed their heads guiltily.

Hiroki rolled his eyes. "'Stayed too long', she says... if we didn't really want you to stick around, we wouldn't have you over for dinner four times a week."

"Today will have to be one of the three days we eat at home, then," said Arukenimon, pushing the door wide open.

"Are you sure, Arukenimon?" Hiroki called. "It's yakiniku night."

She stopped and looked back, biting her lip. "Well... I suppose we _could_ stay a little longer..." she glanced at Mummymon. "If Bandages here doesn't mind."

Mummymon laughed. "Of course I don't! I'd love to stay for dinner."

Arukenimon sighed dramatically and finally let out a smile. "I guess we're staying."

"Wonderful!" Hiroki exclaimed as Mummymon walked past him to join Arukenimon. "I hope you have some interesting things to tell us! Couldn't have spent an entire week locked up in the apartment, right?" As the two left, he turned to Iori and Upamon. "And I hope you'll fill me in on what you already told your mother. It sounds like you had quite the adventure today."

Iori and Upamon beamed and followed Hiroki out of the room.

O

The next day, Miyako stayed behind. After they had returned from the Digital World the previous day, Koushirou took her Digivice to scan and retrieve data from it, in an attempt to find out more about the new Digivices. Iori wanted to tell them about his father's research; Hiroki had done the same thing with Iori's Digivice in the last two evenings, connecting the device to his laptop and analyzing the data stored inside. He had managed to retrieve some sort of a monochromatic grid map of the Digital World, composed mostly of white and grey squares with black clusters strewn around. Neither of them were sure how to interpret it, but Hiroki was certain that they would figure it out eventually.

But Iori remembered his old promise to his father and kept it quiet; when his father was ready, he would tell the other Chosen Children of his research himself. In the meantime, he tried to give Koushirou vague hints as to what to search for ("maybe there's a map, Koushirou-san? If the Digivice can be used as a tracking device, then surely it has a map..."). He wanted to help the other kids as much as he could without revealing his father's work.

While Koushirou was analyzing the Digivice, the new Chosen Children had their own missions. During a routine patrol, Tentomon and Piyomon located what seemed to be a top-security prison. The new Chosen, along with Taichi and Agumon, went to infiltrate it and rescue any prisoners. Surprisingly, the entire mission went along smoothly; they got in, rescued the group of ten Gotsumon that was locked up inside and got out in no time, and not a single brainwashed Digimon tried to stop them.

"That was so easy!" Daisuke laughed after they got out. "Bet the Kaiser's too scared to attack us, now that Takeru and Hikari-chan have Armor Digimon too!"

"It was _too_ easy," Taichi sighed, looking back at the concrete building. "I mean, you'd think he'd send _someone_ to stop us."

"There were cameras all over the place," Takeru pointed out, absently straightening the high collar of the new jacket the Digital World had conjured for him. "He should've been able to see us coming and going..."

"He probably lost interest in us," said one of the Gotsumon solemnly.

"Lost interest? What do you mean by that?" wondered Taichi, raising an eyebrow.

"After he caught us and imprisoned us here, he pitted us against each other and made the rest of us watch..." explained the Gotsumon, hanging his head.

"But that was only for one day," said another Gotsumon. "We were stuck here for two more days till you came."

"Good thing there's plenty of rocks here," added a third Gotsumon. "We would've starved otherwise!"

"That's terrible!" Hikari gasped.

"That's the kind of thing the Digimon Kaiser does," said Tailmon grimly. "I've heard of many Digimon who were tortured by him and left for dead."

"Did you see the Kaiser?" Iori asked the Gotsumon.

All ten Gotsumon shook their heads. "He never shows up!" exclaimed one of the Gotsumon. "He controls everything from far away!"

"Like this giant, evil remote control," muttered Daisuke. "Man, that Digimon Kaiser is really gettin' on my nerves!"

"Don't worry, Daisuke! We'll take care of him!" exclaimed V-mon, pumping his fist.

"Not today, though," said Taichi. "First of all, we have to get these Gotsumon to a safe place so the Kaiser won't get them again."

"I think I know a cave that's a good hiding place, for now," offered Agumon. "I can take you there, it'll be okay!" he grinned at the Gotsumon. The rocky Digimon nodded, looking somewhat happier than they did when the children found them.

The group started moving, preparing to follow Agumon to the cave. Iori was about to go as well, but suddenly, he sensed something moving behind him. He turned around quickly, but there was nothing there, save for odd Digital bushes. "Huh...?"

"Oi, Iori, why'd you stop?" Daisuke called. The others stopped to look back at Iori.

"Is something wrong, Iori-kun?" Takeru asked.

"I don't know, I thought there was something in the bushes..." Iori scratched his head in confusion.

"Eh, you're probably just imaginin' it," Daisuke dismissed his concern, crossing his arms behind his head casually. "The Gotsumon said he lost interest, right? An' we would've heard somethin' if anyone was there!"

"I guess..." Iori said, uncertain. He looked at the bushes again. His grandfather had been training him in the art of kendo since he was young, and one of the things he'd taught Iori was to sense sudden movements, so he could anticipate and avoid his opponents' attacks. He was sure he sensed something like that in the bushes... was someone following them?

He shook it off. Perhaps Daisuke was right and he really was imagining it. Being a Chosen Child was proving to be a rather stressful job, and it wouldn't be too far-fetched to think that he was just a bit tense... Shrugging, he followed the others.

O

"Dad, Arukenimon is being gross again!"

"Oh I am _not_! Iori's just being a wuss!"

"_Ugh_! Dad, make her _stop_!"

"Don't listen to him, I'm not doing anything!"

Hiroki tore his gaze from the grid map on the screen of his laptop and sighed. He liked Arukenimon and Mummymon (they were his and Yukio's creations, after all), and he liked it when they came over... but sometimes, putting them in the same room with Iori was a recipe for disaster. There was a reason Hiroki tended to refer to them as 'the kids'.

"Guys, please shut up, I'm _working_!" he shouted. "Iori, honestly, don't cry for me every time Arukenimon bothers you!"

After a moment of silence, he heard Iori calling out, "I'm sorry, dad!"

"And Arukenimon, don't flirt with Mummymon just to mess with Iori!"

He counted to three silently. On three, Arukenimon stomped into the living room. "How the hell did you know I was doing that?!" she demanded with a frown.

Hiroki smirked. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because that's your favorite thing to do when the boys are playing their fighting games? I know it bores you, but please try to be patient and don't do that."

Arukenimon huffed. "_Fine_," she snapped, making her way back to Iori's room.

Hiroki glanced wearily over the small table. "Dad, was I that bad as a teenager?"

Chikara looked over the book he was reading, raising an eyebrow. "No, I don't think you were nearly as bad, all things considered" he replied.

Hiroki chuckled, despite himself. "Thought so."

O

"You're such a spoilsport," Arukenimon accused Iori when she returned to the room. The boy was sitting on the floor in front of his small television set, next to Mummymon, who was tapping at a game controller. A second game controller lay on the floor, discarded.

Iori glared at Arukenimon. "You're the one who's a spoilsport," he muttered. "Mummymon won't play the game with me anymore because of you."

"He's still playing _something_," said Arukenimon, displeased.

"He's helping me beat this boss in Dragon Quest instead," Iori explained, his face flushing a bit. "I'm really stuck on that one..."

Arukenimon groaned, but Mummymon smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry, Arukeni! It'll be easier to divide my attention between the two of you and the game, now that I'm playing against artificial intelligence. Besides, it's a turn-based RPG."

Arukenimon raised an eyebrow.

"It means the gameplay is relatively slow," he explained. "I don't have to react to the enemies immediately."

She rolled her eyes. "I _know_. You're forgetting I live with you and Oikawa-san, the King of Games," she mocked. "That's why I can't believe you still feel the need to explain to me exactly why your playing Dragon Warrior is much better than--"

"It's called Dragon _Quest_," Iori corrected her.

"Whatever," Arukenimon grumbled. "In any case, slow gameplay or not, now you're just pretending to beat some imaginary monster into a bloody pulp instead of pretending to beat _Iori _into a bloody pulp. _Huge_ difference, I'm sure."

"At least we're not very occupied, so you don't have to waste your energy trying to distract us anymore," Mummymon offered, unaffected.

"Oh, _please_, like you didn't enjoy it," Arukenimon scoffed. Mummymon turned his attention back to the screen, but his sheepish smile and slight blush said it all.

"How can you even focus on playing when she's all over you like that?" Iori asked, making a face.

Mummymon's smile was now wide and goofy. "It's a talent I have."

Iori stuck his tongue out in disgust. "It's gross."

Arukenimon walked over to Mummymon and kneeled, leaning forward onto Mummymon's back and wrapping her arms around his neck; Mummymon certainly didn't seem to mind. "Trust me, Iori," she said, giving him a smug grin, "five years from now and you'll wish you'll have what he has."

"No I won't," said Iori, incredulous.

"Let's change the subject, alright? I don't want you to start bickering again," said Mummymon, glancing at Arukenimon disapprovingly. "So... did those Gotsumon you told us about during dinner tell you anything important?"

"Oh, the Gotsumon?" Iori's gaze wandered to the small basket Upamon was sleeping in. "Well, they told us the Kaiser pitted them against each other and made the ones he wasn't controlling watch their friends fight. And then he just left them there without food for two days."

"So he's a fan of cockfighting, too?" Arukenimon rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised."

"Those poor Gotsumon," muttered Mummymon, frowning. "And the Kaiser wasn't there?"

Iori sighed. "No, we didn't see him, but..." he stopped. He thought about the feeling he'd had as they led the Gotsumon to the cave... even though he'd tried to dismiss it as stress, he couldn't help but think there was more to it. He hadn't told his family about his suspicions, but... could he tell Arukenimon and Mummymon?

"What is it?" Mummymon asked.

Iori hesitated. "Well... as long as you promise you won't tell dad about it..."

"Sure," Arukenimon said, shrugging. "So what happened?"

He took a deep breath. "I think the Digimon Kaiser may be following us," he said.

The two hybrids stared. "The Digimon Kaiser? Following you?" Arukenimon repeated.

Iori nodded. "Yeah... when we rescued the Gotsumon, I felt like someone was hiding in the woods and watching us. I can't think of anyone who'd want to follow us other than the Kaiser."

"Is that so..." Mummymon mumbled. Arukenimon leaned backwards abruptly and he looked back at her; they both seemed troubled.

"What if he's planning and waiting for the right time to attack us directly?" Iori frowned. "I know I've been saying that we can beat the Kaiser now since we have five Armor Digimon, but we still don't know how he manages to put so many Digimon under his control, or why the only evolution type that works is Armor Evolution... we can't fight him head-on yet."

"You're probably just imagining it," Arukenimon said quickly.

"Huh? But I really think someone is following us..." Iori mumbled.

"Don't worry, it's not the Digimon Kaiser's style," said Mummymon, in the same quick manner as Arukenimon. "Or else someone would've seen him by now. I don't think you have to worry about him now, in any case."

"But-!" Iori tried to disagree, but Arukenimon shook her head and Mummymon patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry," Mummymon said, smiling an odd smile. "It's definitely not the Kaiser... trust us on this."

Iori sighed, but didn't try to argue any further. For the next hour, he watched Mummymon play the game. Arukenimon and Mummymon asked him some questions about his previous trips to the Digital World, and Arukenimon chided Mummymon every once in a while for using Heal too much, but they were mostly eerily quiet. The two were usually incredibly talkative, so Iori was sure that their sudden silence had to do with his observation that someone was following the Chosen Children. Was there something they weren't telling him?

However, he decided to let it go for now. Surely, if they thought it was something as dangerous as the Kaiser, they would have told him about it...?

O

The next day, Koushirou returned Miyako's Digivice, finished with his examination of it. To Iori's relief, Koushirou showed them the same grid map Hiroki had secretly discovered earlier, and they all tried to figure out the meaning of the black clusters that marked it. However, their speculation was brought to an end when the Digital Gate program flashed in the control panel, indicating that they received an SOS signal. On the grid map, a square flashed white in the middle of one of the black clusters.

"Interesting," mumbled Koushirou, scratching his chin. "It seems to be indicating the source of the signal on the map."

"Hey, maybe those black clusters are areas controlled by the Digimon Kaiser!" speculated Iori. "An SOS signal means trouble... and the Digimon Kaiser is nothing but trouble."

"So whoever it is that sent the signal is in _major_ trouble!" Miyako concluded. "We have to go to the Digital World, Koushirou-senpai!"

Koushirou minimized the grid map, bringing up the Digital Gate. "Right. While you're there, I'll monitor the computer lab, and..."

Suddenly, a tall teen wearing the Odaiba Middle School uniform stormed into the computer lab, slamming the sliding door behind him. His long blond hair was in a complete mess, and his striking blue eyes were directed at Takeru and Koushirou. "Did you get the signal?" he panted.

"Oniichan!" Takeru exclaimed.

"Yes, Yamato-san, we got the signal," Koushirou answered. "Did you...?"

Yamato pulled an old-school Digivice out of his pocket. Several kanji letters flashed red on the screen; a call for help. "Taichi told me the same thing appeared on his Digivice when Agumon sent him an SOS signal," he said. "Gabumon is in trouble, I know it."

Daisuke, Miyako, Iori and their Digimon stared at the exchange with wide, inquiring eyes. "Yamato-san is Takeru's older brother, and he's also one of the Chosen Children," Hikari explained to them. "And Gabumon is his Digimon partner."

"Wait, so his Digimon partner's in trouble?" spluttered Daisuke. "Then what're we waitin' for? Let's go help him!" He hastily dug into the pocket of his cargo pants for his Digivice. "Come on, come on..."

"I'm coming with you," said Yamato. "I can't just sit here and twiddle my thumbs while my own Digimon partner is in danger."

Koushirou nodded. "Alright. Like I said, while you help Gabumon, I'll monitor the computer lab and try to find out more about the grid map."

The younger Chosen and Yamato stood in front of the computer, pointing their Digivices at the screen. "Chosen Children, let's move!" Miyako exclaimed enthusiastically, pointing a finger in the air. With a flash, they were gone.

O

They found Yamato's Digimon partner sprawled in front of the television set they had arrived through. Gabumon, a Digimon with a yellow, reptilian body and a blue wolf-like fur pelt covering his head and back, was immediately energized upon seeing Yamato. It appeared that he had sent the SOS signal through the television set, much like Agumon unwittingly had almost a week earlier.

Gabumon led them to the outskirts of a large city built up on the bottom a tall mountain, with white buildings and flights of stairs instead of streets. Gabumon explained that this was Santa Geria, a peaceful city inhabited by Veggiemon and Gazimon, which he had been guarding for a while. However, the Digimon Kaiser recently took over the city, enslaving the Veggiemon and imprisoning the Gazimon. How he did it was a mystery; all Gabumon knew was that Santa Geria was free when he went to sleep the previous night, and when he woke up, the Veggiemon of the city were rounding up the Gazimon in the name of the Digimon Kaiser, their bodies encircled by what the Kaiser apparently called "Evil Rings". Gabumon tried to break out with several of the Gazimon he shared a cell with, but his attempt was thwarted by the leader of the Veggiemon, RedVeggiemon, who beat him up and chucked him off a cliff.

And then there was the Dark Tower.

"Dark Tower, is it?" Yamato looked at the top of the tall mountain Gabumon pointed at. The shape of something tall, thin and black stood out in the rocky landscape.

"I think the Kaiser built it," said Gabumon. "He must have. It wasn't there yesterday."

"Now that you mention it, I think we saw something like that in the distance when we were saving the Gotsumon yesterday," said Tailmon.

Iori squinted at the tall shape in the distance. "Does it have a purpose?"

Gabumon shrugged. "None that I know of."

"Maybe it's just a marker for the Digimon Kaiser, to show that he's in control of the area," suggested Miyako.

"So it's not important," decided Daisuke. "C'mon, we've got some prisoners to rescue!"

"Hold on, Daisuke, I have to make this clear..." Yamato started. Iori heard him scolding Daisuke for rushing, and Daisuke moping when Takeru, Hikari and Miyako agreed with the more experienced Chosen Child, but didn't pay much attention; someone was watching them again.

"Iori...?" Armadimon looked up at his partner, puzzled.

"Someone's here," Iori mumbled, looking around carefully. Maybe this time, he would be able to catch whoever it was...

The bushes rustled. He stiffened.

A slimy green creature crawled out of the bushes, with round eyes supported by stalks and a swollen red tongue hanging out of its open mouth. Iori made a face.

"Don't worry, it's just a Numemon da'gya," said Armadimon as the Numemon crawled behind a tree trunk.

"I know," mumbled Iori. He had already encountered an entire swarm of Numemon on his first visit to the Digital World, before he'd reached Takeru and the others at the Mayan pyramid. Arukenimon and Mummymon had told him once that Numemon were absolutely harmless, if a bit of a nuisance... so that was it? The creature who was following them all along was just a weak, slimy Digimon with no bad intentions? For some reason, Iori felt rather disappointed.

"Oi, Iori, you agree with me, right?!"

"Huh?" he looked to his side to find Daisuke and V-mon there. Daisuke was crossing his arms and pouting, while his Digimon looked at him with concern.

"Really, what does it matter what RedVeggiemon looks like?" Daisuke grumbled. "He's probably red, that's all we need to know!"

"Oh... well, it's information we can use, then," replied Iori. He ran off to join the others, who stood in a circle around Gabumon to listen to his description of RedVeggiemon.

O

Not far from the city gate, they found an inexplicable vending machine that sold rope and thick rubber bands. Yamato put a coin in it, but nothing happened until V-mon used his V-Head attack on the machine. The attack caused a swarm of startled Numemon to slide out and crawl away in a hurry, giving Daisuke and Miyako a huge shock. Iori was rather amused, reminded of his own reaction to his first swarm of Numemon. After the Numemon, a coil of rope and dozens of huge rubber bands rolled out of the machine, which was perfect for the plan they had hatched to get into the city.

Passing five black rubber bands off as Evil Rings, the younger Chosen's Digimon dragged the children and Gabumon to the gate, tied together by the rope, and claimed that they had captured the escapee and his human accomplices. After the Veggimon guards let them through, the Digimon led them to the town jail, even throwing the children into the cell to keep up the act in front of the jailers. Before the Veggiemon could even thank them, however, the children's Digimon attacked, subdued the jailers, and freed the children and the Gazimon.

The streets of Santa Geria were filled with enslaved Veggiemon guards. Daisuke thought it would be a good time to have V-mon Armor Evolve. However, Yamato didn't want the Gazimon involved, so Gabumon suggested taking the road to the top of the mountain and escaping from there. Everyone agreed that it was a smarter move, except for Daisuke, who sulked the whole way up.

The top of the mountain was completely flat and featureless, giving the children a good view of the entire area. On the far side of the mountaintop stood the Dark Tower they'd seen earlier, a foreboding dark obelisk. The children started searching for an easy way down, but getting off the mountain proved to be a harder task than they had anticipated. They gathered at the base of the Dark Tower and looked over the edge of the mountain, seeing the rocky ground many meters below.

"It's too tall, we'll never make it!" said Hikari, disappointed.

Yamato frowned. "If only we had rope..."

"Hey, there's the rope we left in the jailhouse!" exclaimed Daisuke, sounding pleased with himself. "V-mon and I'll just go back and get it!"

Yamato made a face. "Daisuke, think for a minute! All five of you can't possibly fight all the Veggiemon at Santa Geria on your own, let alone just you and V-mon. Besides, that rope is too short for climbing down."

Daisuke pouted.

"There's still the vending machine back in the forest," Takeru reminded his brother. "We could send a flying Digimon there with a coin to bring us more rope!"

Yamato's expression brightened. "Good idea, Takeru. It just might work." He turned to Miyako. "Miyako-chan, do you think Hawkmon could take on this mission?"

"Of course!" Miyako grinned at her partner. "Ready, Hawkmon?"

Hawkmon bowed. "Yes! I will do my best, everyone!"

Yamato gave him a coin. "Use this. If it doesn't work... I suppose you could just attack the machine." Hawkmon nodded, catching the coin in his beak and taking off. However, as soon as he turned in the direction of Santa Geria and the forest, he called out in alarm. The children turned around, startled, to see around two dozen Veggiemon blocking the only way down the mountain. The yellow, plantlike Digimon tittered impishly, using their Poop Throw attack to make Hawkmon plummet to the ground.

"No way you're getting through!" laughed their leader, who was obviously RedVeggiemon. Just as Gabumon described, RedVeggiemon's body was similar to Veggiemon, red where a regular Veggiemon would be yellow. The leaves on top of his head were green and weedy, the markings on his face were dark and jagged and there were lime green bulbs with small spines at the ends of his long, vine-like arms. Like all the Veggiemon, his bulbous body was encircled by an Evil Ring.

Without warning, V-mon rushed in. "Watch me, Daisuke, I'll cheer you up!" he cried, running up to RedVeggiemon.

"What? Hey, V-mon, hold on!" Daisuke shouted, but V-mon didn't stop. Before he could make a move on RedVeggiemon, the plantlike Digimon knocked V-mon back with a spiny bulb.

"Don't underestimate me or you'll get injured! Red Hot Machinegun!" With that, RedVeggiemon fired red chili peppers that exploded in V-mon's face, making him fall over.

"Come on, Armor Evolution time!" Daisuke declared, taking his Digivice out. However, three Veggiemon jumped him, tying his arms close to his body and preventing him from moving.

"This will stop them! Hazard Breath!" RedVeggiemon opened his mouth, letting out a foul-smelling cloud that caused everyone to cough and choke. Within seconds, the Veggiemon had everyone captured.

RedVeggiemon wrapped his vines tightly around V-mon. "He's going to get a hundred lashes!" RedVeggiemon exclaimed nastily, slamming the small dragon to the ground. "Watch closely! _One_!"

V-mon cried out. Unfazed, RedVeggiemon continued. "_Two_! _Three_! _Four_!"

Grunting, V-mon scrambled to his feet, glaring at his aggressor. RedVeggiemon smirked.

"Not too bad, if you can still get up. But I'll always knock you back down!" With a loud yell, RedVeggiemon smacked V-mon in the face. "_Five_! _Six_! _Seven_!"

"I can't watch this..." murmured Gabumon, shutting his eyes tightly. The other Chosen and their Digimon averted their eyes as well, unwilling to see their friend suffering.

"_Ten_! _Eleven_! _Twelve_!"

"We can't do anything..." muttered Yamato, struggling against his restrainers.

"_Thirteen_! _Fourteen_! _Fifteen_!"

"V-mon!" Daisuke cried, trying to move forward. However, he fell and landed hard, the three Veggiemon tightening their hold on him.

"_Eighteen_! _Nineteen_! _Twenty_!"

"If only I could evolve..." Gabumon looked at Yamato hopefully.

However, the blond teen frowned as he looked at his Digivice. "There's no signal," he said, gritting his teeth. Gabumon grimaced.

"_Twenty-five_! _Twenty-six_! _Twenty-seven_! _Twenty-eight_! _Twen_-"

"STOP IT!"

It was Iori. There were sounds of protest coming from the Veggiemon that had been holding onto him as the boy kicked him in the jaw and wriggled out of his grasp. The Veggiemon tried to grab him again, but Iori was faster. He stumbled a bit as the plant Digimon's vines tried to trip him, but didn't stop running until he reached Daisuke.

"Wha...?" the spiky-haired boy looked up, confused, as Iori barely dodged the vine one of Daisuke's captors sent after him.

"He can't do this to V-mon!" cried Iori, avoiding another vine. "I gotta free you so you can help V-mon!"

"What the _hell_ are you doin'?!" Daisuke screamed, wriggling. "I don't want V-mon to get hurt, but I don't want you to get hurt either! Get outta here"

The others joined Daisuke in a noisy chorus of yells and shouts.

"Iori-kun, listen to him!"

"Don't stay here, go and get help!"

"Run, Iori-kun!"

"Go get Koushirou!"

As the Veggiemon that had held him before skipped towards him, and Daisuke's captors launched vines at him, Iori realized that the others' idea was much better than his own. He really hadn't thought this through, had he...? But he'd have to scold himself for it later, he decided, starting to run towards the mountain road. The Veggiemon were slower than him, he could make it...

"You're pretty good, aren't you, boy? Escaping like that?" Iori halted as he found himself facing RedVeggiemon. He looked back; V-mon was pinned to the ground by one of Daisuke's captors, looking on helplessly.

"Trying to stand up to us? You're really something!" RedVeggiemon continued with a menacing smirk, dragging himself forward with his bulb-ended vines. "You're gonna pay for that! Oh, you are!"

"IORI!!!" Armadimon called out, his high, scratchy voice filled with terror.

Iori recoiled. He _really_ hadn't thought this through.

Without warning, RedVeggiemon swung his vine-like limb and struck hard.

Iori couldn't see or hear anything. He could only feel the pain in his arm, and his body flying through the air...

But he didn't hit the ground. Something – _someone_ – had caught him, and was carrying him away. When they came to a halt, the person that had caught him let him down and steadied him on his feet, supporting him with a pair of huge hands.

"That was close... you're okay, right?"

That voice... Iori opened his eyes immediately. He was still a bit disoriented from the blow he had received, but he instantly recognized the face in front of him; almost entirely covered in bandages with only the left eye and mouth visible, grey skin, long, pointy ears, a purple bandana and a shock of silvery-white hair...

"You...?" Iori mumbled in disbelief.

"Oh, you recognize me! So you _are_ okay." Mummymon stood up and grinned, his wide mouth full of pointed, shark-like teeth. He was even taller in Digimon form than he was in human form, and true to his name, he was wrapped in bandages from head to toe. He was leaning on a rifle that was almost as long as he was tall, as if it were a crutch.

"_You_?!" Iori repeated, gawking at Mummymon's form.

"Yes, him, I think you covered that already," said Arukenimon; in his daze, Iori hadn't even noticed she was there. She was also in Digimon form, a beastly demon with the upper body of a woman and the abdomen of a colossal red-and-purple spider. Though the red mask that covered half of her face limited her expression, Iori could tell that she was rather irritated. "Mummymon, when I tell you to wait, you _wait_."

Mummymon pouted. "I just didn't want him to get more injured than he already was..." he gestured with his bandage-covered chin at Iori.

Arukenimon glanced at the boy; one of his sleeves was a bit torn at the shoulder where RedVeggiemon struck, the exposed skin purple and bruised. She sighed. "I guess that's fair."

Iori's gaze shifted between the two hybrids, and then strayed to the other Chosen. The expressions on their faces conveyed varying levels of puzzlement and shock. The Veggiemon gaped at Arukenimon and Mummymon, trembling with fear. RedVeggiemon's jaw dropped and quivered violently. "What?! Who are you?!" he shrieked, flailing his vines frantically. "Who gave you the right?!"

Arukenimon turned to face him, smirking. "Oh, were we supposed to _ask_ if we could interfere?" she asked with contempt. "I had no idea! And I don't particularly care, either."

She extended one of her arms, pointing it in RedVeggiemon's direction. "Spider Thread!" she called, and a red wire shot out from the gem on the back of her hand. RedVeggiemon barely managed to dodge it, and the wire hit the rocky ground, digging into it and leaving a dent.

"Wh-what?!" RedVeggiemon stammered, staring at the dent.

Arukenimon nodded, pleased. "Now, is there any chance your lackeys will let those kids go?" she pointed at the quivering Veggiemon. The Veggiemon didn't even wait for RedVeggiemon's order, releasing the children and Digimon immediately and stepping back.

Mummymon grinned. "That's better! No need for all that violence, right?" He walked past a stammering RedVeggiemon and stopped in front of Daisuke, extending a clawed hand to him. "Need help?"

Daisuke stared for a moment, and then reached up to Mummymon's hand. Mummymon pulled the boy up onto his feet effortlessly.

Arukenimon looked at the terrified Veggiemon with satisfaction. "Being a Perfect Digimon sure has its perks," she commented.

"Who are you guys...?" Daisuke asked, bewildered. The others gave the hybrids inquisitive looks.

"Uh, us?" Mummymon rubbed the back of his head with one huge, clawed hand, his eye shifting nervously. "Oh, well, we're just..."

Before he could reveal anything, Arukenimon shrieked. "Mummymon, behind you!!!"

Mummymon quickly twisted around on one foot and fired without even aiming, a wide, wicked beam of energy missing the attacking RedVeggimon completely. RedVeggiemon's vines missed their target as well, merely tangling around the bandaged Digimon's ankles. Mummymon lost his balance and fell hard on his back, firing all the while. The rifle's beam hit the Dark Tower, blowing its pointed top right off; electricity started crackling through the damaged obelisk.

"That's just GREAT," hissed Arukenimon as the Veggiemon started to encircle them again. "You've hit their little totem pole and now they're angry!"

Mummymon sat up and rubbed his sore back. "Obelisk," he mumbled.

"Oh, whatever," she snapped.

"Everyone, it's time to fight back!" called Yamato, raising his Digivice.

Takeru blinked at his brother, confused. "Oniichan, but you can't..."

Yamato grinned. "I've got a signal," he said simply, letting Gabumon rush past him.

"_Gabumon, evolve! Garurumon!_"

The younger Chosen watched, awestruck, as Gabumon became a gigantic wolf. Garurumon snarled at the terrified Veggiemon, who were scrambling to get away despite RedVeggiemon's protests.

"If _he_ can evolve now..." Iori mumbled, feeling a sudden wave of optimism hit him.

"Come on, guys!" Daisuke exclaimed, beaming. "We've got some Veggiemon to catch! _Digimental UP_!"

The other Chosen followed Daisuke's example, and soon the Armor Digimon joined Garurumon in halting the Veggiemon's movement. Daisuke and Fladramon went after RedVeggiemon, who tried to fire a Red Hot Machinegun attack at Fladramon. Unimpressed, the Armor Digimon blocked the attack and punched RedVeggiemon in the jaw, to Daisuke's delight. In the flurry of attacks, Iori spotted Arukenimon and Mummymon shooting threads and bandages at small groups of unconscious Veggiemon, tying them up. Within minutes, the mountaintop was filled with cocoons full of defeated Veggiemon.

"That'll do it," said Yamato, stroking Garurumon's fur. "You did a great job out there."

"How come Gabumon managed to evolve?" asked Hikari. "You didn't get a signal earlier."

"That was before the Dark Tower was hit, wasn't it?" said Garurumon, looking at the damaged Dark Tower. Nasty cracks ran through it, but it remained standing.

Iori looked at the obelisk, thoughtful. So the Dark Towers weren't just for decoration; the Digimon Kaiser set them up to block evolution. But surely this wasn't their only purpose? There were only so many Digimon with the ability to evolve in the Digital World. Perhaps they had another use...?

Then he remembered Daisuke's words: _Like a giant, evil remote control_.

"Digmon, do you think you can destroy this Dark Tower?" Iori asked his Digimon.

Digmon nodded. "I got it! It's my turn da'gya!" He walked to the base of the Dark Tower and raised his drills. "Big... CRACK!" He dug each of his drills into the tower, and more and more cracks spread across the smooth, dark surface. Soon, the obelisk crumbled into nothing.

All around them, the Veggiemon began to free themselves from their restraints. However, they didn't seem hostile now; instead, they all started taking their Evil Rings off and looking at each other in confusion. A dazed RedVeggiemon looked at his ring and scratched his head. "Huh? What have I been doing?" he wondered aloud, looking to the Chosen and their Digimon for answers.

Miyako made a sound of surprise. "Oh, so that's how they work! The Dark Towers are like antennas, to receive control signals from the Digimon Kaiser," she explained. "That's how he blocks evolution and controls Digimon with Evil Rings!"

Iori nodded. "That's what I had in mind. I'm glad I was right."

"So, it seems that the Chosen Children's mission is clear now," said Yamato. "We have to destroy those Dark Towers the Kaiser's put up, to free the areas he's taken. We can count on you guys, right?"

"Sure you can count on us!" said Daisuke, beaming. Fladramon nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, we're going to bring down all those Dark Towers!" Miyako exclaimed. At her side, Horusmon took a small bow.

"Yeah..." Iori nodded, suddenly feeling drained. The Gazimon the Chosen had protected approached them timidly to thank them for all their help. While the other children were distracted, he turned to look at Arukenimon and Mummymon, who observed quietly and looked rather pleased with the outcome of the events. As he caught their gaze, Mummymon gave him an uneasy smile, while Arukenimon shrugged and looked away.

It occurred to him that they had been right; the Digimon Kaiser wasn't following the Chosen Children around. It wasn't a Numemon, either, but it – or, should he say, _they_ – were definitely harmless... and more than a bit of a nuisance.

O

Following the battle, the citizens of Santa Geria led the team, including Arukenimon and Mummymon, to city hall, where they sat in the foyer and got a well-needed rest. The hybrids refused to sit, insisting on standing to either side of the double doorway, away from the children. While Miyako sent Koushirou an update on her D-Terminal, the others fretted over Iori's bruise. Though Iori insisted that he was alright, he grudgingly let Yamato examine his arm, if only to get everyone to shut up.

"He'll be fine," said Yamato after a minute. "All he needs is an ice pack. Hey, Gabumon, do you have ice packs here?"

"What's an ice pack?" asked Gabumon.

"No, huh? Ah, well," Yamato shrugged. "You can bear it till we get back to the Real World, right?" he smiled at Iori.

"Yeah..."

Miyako's D-Terminal beeped. She flipped it open. "Ah, Koushirou-senpai wrote back! About the map... oh!" she exclaimed, beaming. "Everyone, the black square in our location – he says it's gone!"

The team cried in surprise. "Gone?! Really?!"

Miyako nodded. "Right! He says it's a white square now. He thinks that the black squares must be areas that have a Dark Tower set up."

Another D-Terminal beeped. "That's mine," called Yamato, pulling it out of his vest and flipping it open. "From Taichi... he just arrived at the computer lab. He wants to go back and destroy the Dark Tower from the Gotsumon's area."

"We should head back, then," said Hikari. "He can't get in without the new Digivice, and it's already sunset."

Mummymon glanced outside, looking at the pink sky. "It _is_ getting pretty late, isn't it?" he commented. "Looks like we'd better be off too." He looked at Arukenimon, who nodded.

Yamato held his hand up. "Hold on," he requested. "Before you go, we'd like to thank you for your help."

"If not for your attack, we wouldn't have figured out the Dark Towers' purpose," said Hikari, smiling.

Mummymon laughed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Aw, no, that was just an accident on my part! I'm sure you would've figured it out without me."

"But we figured it out _because_ of your help!" said Miyako.

"And you scared the Veggiemon half to death," added Daisuke, sniggering. "That was awesome. I thought they'd have me tied up like that forever!"

"And you helped us restrain them later," said Takeru. "So we really owe you our gratitude."

"Aww..." Mummymon grinned, blushing a bit. "Not at all, guys. We were glad to help you."

Arukenimon rolled her eyes, though Iori knew her well enough to notice the smile she was trying to hold back.

"So... who are you guys, again?" asked Daisuke, raising an eyebrow.

Iori gulped. _They'd better not tell anything about Dad..._

Mummymon gasped. "Oh! We never properly introduced ourselves, didn't we? I'm sorry, where are my manners... I'm Mummymon, and this is..."

"Arukenimon," she cut him off impatiently.

"Right!" Mummymon broke into a goofy grin.

"And you helped us because...?" Miyako inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Miyako-san!" Hikari exclaimed in shock.

"It's alright, Hikari," said Yamato. "It's not the best way to go around asking it... but it _is_ a good question."

Miyako flushed a bit. "Yeah, I mean... no offense," she said to Arukenimon and Mummymon. "It was really nice of you and everything, but it's a bit... strange, that you'd come out of the blue to help."

"Oh, well..." it seemed like Mummymon was grasping for an answer. "I guess we just... feel it's our duty to protect the Digital World."

"Your duty?" Takeru repeated, surprised.

Mummymon scratched under his bandanna with one of his long, black claws. "Yeah, well, it's not like you Chosen Children, who were... you know, chosen to. We just feel that the Digital World is our home. We don't want the Digimon Kaiser to make it a bad place to live in."

"I don't think he'd give us much leeway to work around here if he was in charge," Arukenimon added.

"Work? What kind of work?" Miyako asked, increasingly interested.

"Research," Arukenimon said quickly.

"Right! We get to translate all sorts of ancient texts and go around excavating things, it's great," said Mummymon with a grin. Arukenimon snorted. "Though lately we've been doing lots of guard duty. Gennai says the inhabitants of the Digital World need all the help they can get, so..."

"Oh! You know Gennai-san?" Hikari exclaimed. Yamato, Takeru and their Digimon seemed to recognize the name as well, much to Iori's surprise.

"Uh, yeah..." Mummymon mumbled, exchanging an anxious look with Arukenimon. He tried to catch Iori's eyes, but Iori looked away immediately.

"Gennai is... a digital being that isn't a Digimon, for lack of a better term," Yamato explained to the new Chosen Children. "He looks pretty much human, really. He guided us four years ago... helped us figure out what we were up against."

"How is he doing?" Takeru asked Arukenimon and Mummymon. "Our friend Koushirou stayed in touch with him, but even he hasn't heard from Gennai-san in a while."

"Oh, he's... he's okay! Perfectly fine, yes..." Mummymon babbled.

Arukenimon rolled her eyes. "Okay, I _really_ think we should be going," she said, grabbing Mummymon's hand and pulling it harshly. "Come on, Bandage Brain, we're off."

"O-okay..." Mummymon flashed the Chosen an awkward smile. "Guess it's goodbye, then."

"Thanks again!" Yamato called out as Arukenimon started dragging Mummymon out the door.

"No problem!" Mummymon called back, waving. "Always glad to help!"

When they were gone, V-mon mumbled, "Those guys are kinda weird."

"A bit, I guess," Takeru chuckled, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"It was really kind of them to help us, though," said Hikari.

"And they know Gennai!" exclaimed Patamon from his perch atop Takeru's fisherman hat. "That's never a bad thing, right?"

"If they work for Gennai, they're _definitely_ on our side," commented Gabumon. "Anyone who works with Gennai can't be a bad guy!"

Daisuke make a face. "That Arukenimon had a bad guy attitude, if you ask me."

"Daisuke, she helped us," said Yamato in an almost scolding tone. "Even if she isn't the most pleasant Digimon to be around, her intentions are good."

"Yeah, yeah, sorry..." the goggleboy scratched his head, looking a bit regretful. "Her partner looked like a pretty cool guy... guess he wouldn't hang out with her if she was bad."

"It was nice to have other Digimon helping us, in any case," Miyako said with a smile. "We can definitely do things on our own, but it'd nice to know that we have support and get some assistance every once in a while."

"That's true..." Takeru sighed. "We should've asked them if there's a way we could contact them. Mummymon did say they feel it's their duty to help..."

Iori didn't join the conversation. Anything he had to say would reveal too much... and there was no way he could explain to the other Chosen Children why he was so angry with Arukenimon and Mummymon, and why he was so frustrated by his teammates' positive reactions to their involvement in the mission. He was glad that, at the very least, the two had avoided revealing their connection to Iori, ruining his father's work... he should have trusted them to keep their mouths shut on the subject, really. But to come here and get involved with the Chosen at all...

He hoped that today would be one of the days where Arukenimon and Mummymon ate dinner at Oikawa's. He was certain that if they came over for dinner tonight, he wouldn't be a very good host.

O

After the Chosen arrived back in the Real World, the others encouraged Iori to go home and take care of his injury. He did, not feeling up for another mission. When he arrived at home, he was greeted by his mother, who couldn't help but notice that he was in a sour mood.

"Iori, are you alright?" she asked with concern as he handed Upamon to her.

"I'm okay, mom..." Iori muttered, kneeling to take off his boots. "I just bruised my arm a little in the Digital World. I'm not too late for dinner, right?"

Fumiko gasped. "You're hurt? Oh, Iori! Let me see, I'll take care of it..."

Sighing, Iori set his boots next to the door and got up. "Mom, it's alright, it's just a bruise."

Fumiko frowned. "Iori, it's never just a bruise! Come on, let's go to the kitchen, I'll make you an ice pack."

"But it's not that bad..." Iori insisted, following his mother helplessly. However, he stopped as they entered the living room. His father and grandfather were sitting at the table with another person, a tall and thin man with a long face and short-cropped dark hair. As the man noticed Iori enter the room, he smiled a familiar, weary-looking smile.

"Oikawa-san!" Iori exclaimed.

"Hello, Iori," Oikawa Yukio greeted him. "Long time no see."

Beaming, Iori approached the men. "So you're not jetlagged anymore?" he asked Yukio.

Yukio laughed. "Not so much that the only thing I want to do after I come home from work is collapse into bed, no."

However, Yukio looked worn-out and paler than usual, with prominent dark rings under his eyes. Iori gave his father an inquisitive look. "He's lying," Hiroki clarified with a grin. "But he's too impatient for his own good."

"Can you blame me, though?" Yukio asked his friend. "After all these years..." He looked at the small Digimon in Fumiko's arms. Though he was tired, his eyes sparkled with excitement. "So, you're Upamon, aren't you?"

"You know my name da'gya!" exclaimed Upamon, delighted. "You're Iori's dad's friend?"

"Yes, yes, I am!" exclaimed Yukio, beaming; he seemed to be very energized just by Upamon's words. "It's so nice to meet you! My name is Oikawa Yukio... oh, I can't believe I'm talking to a real Digimon!"

"Why wouldn't I be real da'gya?" asked Upamon, perplexed.

Yukio shook his head. "I just never imagined we'd see a Digimon in the Real World so soon... or that Iori would bring you here, as a Chosen Child, no less! Oh, speaking of which..." he turned to Iori. "Do you have your Digivice, Iori? Could you show it to me, please?" he requested, sounding desperate.

"I'm sorry, Yukio-san, but I'm afraid you're going to have to wait," Fumiko said decisively. "Iori will be glad to show you everything _after_ I treat his injury."

"It's just a bruise..." Iori protested weakly, looking to his father and grandfather for help. But Chikara shook his head and Hiroki gave him a look as if to say 'do what your mother says'.

"It's alright, Iori," said Yukio, smiling. "We'll have plenty of time to talk later. I'm staying over for dinner."

"Really?!" Iori grinned. "That's great, Oikawa-san!" However, his face fell as he considered what it meant. "Wait... so Arukenimon and Mummymon are coming too?"

Yukio blinked, perplexed. "Why, of course they are... why wouldn't they? They told me they have some stuff to wrap up in the Digital World, but they're going to be here soon."

"Stuff to wrap up, huh..." Iori murmured. His anger, which had dulled a bit by now, was beginning to resurface.

Suddenly, something crashed in one of the bedrooms, followed by the sound of laughter. None of those present were particularly fazed, but Yukio sighed heavily. "Goes in through one ear and out through the other," he muttered.

"It's alright, Yukio," said Hiroki, trying not to laugh. "You know we don't mind."

"Still, it's incredibly rude," Yukio insisted, looking at the direction of the kitchen. "How many times do I have to tell you two that doors exist for a reason?"

Arukenimon and Mummymon stood at the door to the kitchen, back in their human forms. "Sorry, sorry!" said Mummymon, throwing his hands in the air in defense. "But, uh, getting here straight through Hiroki-san's computer is faster," he added apologetically. "We didn't want to be late..."

"It's not like they mind or anything," Arukenimon pointed out.

"We've had no choice but to get used to it," said Chikara, only half serious.

"Hey, Yuki! If it bothers you so much, I'll make a doorbell app for the computer," Hiroki suggested with a manic grin.

Fumiko chuckled. "There's an idea."

Yukio groaned. "Don't encourage them, _please_."

Arukenimon and Mummymon stifled their laughter. However, they both went quiet the moment they noticed Iori. Arukenimon's smile disappeared, and Mummymon's grin suddenly looked unnaturally wide and very forced.

"Oh, uh... hello, Iori!" Mummymon greeted him in a very unconvincingly cheerful tone. Arukenimon just nodded in acknowledgement and proceeded to concentrate hard on staring at the floor.

"Are you two okay?" Hiroki asked, raising an eyebrow in puzzlement.

"Oh, perfectly fine!" Mummymon exclaimed, a little too loudly. "Why do you ask?!"

"Hiroki's right," Yukio said with a frown. "Your mood's completely different all of a sudden. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing at all!"

"Nothing at all, huh..." Iori grumbled. Ignoring his mother's silent protest, he walked up to the hybrids, fists clenched. He stopped right in front of them, glaring up. Despite being much shorter than the two, he felt as if he was intimidating them with just his glare. He could tell they were anxious; Mummymon, whose posture was always very relaxed, was as stiff as a board, and Arukenimon shifted her weight from one leg to the other, when she usually stood confident and firm.

"What in the world were you thinking?!" he demanded.

"Uh," said Mummymon eloquently.

"Why did you come?!" Iori shouted. "We didn't ask you to! I don't care how bad the situation looked! Don't you think we could've handled it on our own?!"

He heard the adults rushing over, and felt his father's hands squeezing his shoulders. "Iori, that's enough," Hiroki ordered. "Calm down."

Iori wriggled out of Hiroki's hold. "No, I won't calm down!" he cried. "Not after what they did!"

"What did they do, exactly?" Yukio asked, eying Arukenimon and Mummymon.

"We were on a mission to save this town," breathed Iori, "and we were facing these Veggiemon, and suddenly they decided to pop up and save the day!"

Hiroki raised an eyebrow. "They helped you...? And you're angry about it?"

Iori growled. "They shouldn't have helped at _all_! They should have a little more faith in our abilities!" He glowered at Arukenimon and Mummymon, who both avoided his glare and bowed their heads almost guiltily. "Gennai told you about the Chosen Children, you should've known what they're capable of! We were chosen for a reason! Whoever it was that chose us thought we could save the Digital World from the Digimon Kaiser on our own! Someone thought we could rise to the challenge and really make a difference... but you just had to jump in and do our job for us! Don't you trust us at _all_?!"

He stopped, trying to catch his breath. He was already weary after the events at Santa Geria, and he felt like he'd just wasted what remained of his energy lashing out at the hybrids.

He felt his father squeezing his shoulders lightly. "I can understand why you're angry, Iori. Now, I don't think they don't trust you... _But_," he stressed, as Iori opened his mouth to protest, "I think we should hear their side of the story first."

"Hiroki's right," said Yukio. "We should hear their reason to following you before we jump into conclusions. So," he addressed Arukenimon and Mummymon. "What do you have to say for yourselves?"

After a long, uneasy silence, Mummymon finally spoke up, raising his head slightly to look at Iori. "I'm sorry," he said, sounding remorseful. "We didn't mean to make you feel that way..."

"Mummymon, quiet," Arukenimon hissed.

"Arukenimon, I can't lie to Iori! Now that he knows we were following him..."

"So it _was_ you!" Iori cried. "You were in the woods yesterday, when we rescued the Gotsumon! And before we left to Santa Geria today!"

"It wasn't a Numemon da'gya?" Upamon wondered, perplexed.

"Now I understand why you looked so troubled when I told you yesterday," said Iori, gritting his teeth. "'Don't worry about it', you said! You just didn't want to get caught!"

"We didn't want you to find out..." mumbled Mummymon.

"_Why_?"

Mummymon sighed. "Iori, please don't get the wrong idea... Arukenimon and I know what it means for you, being a Chosen Child. We know you and the others can do it! Especially after the last two days." He smiled awkwardly. "We were really impressed with you guys."

"If you thought we could do it... then why did you follow us? Why did you help?"

Mummymon bowed his head, looking at Iori uneasily. "Well... we were just... worried."

"Worried?" Iori looked at Arukenimon. "Is that true?"

Arukenimon returned his gaze, expressionless, and shrugged. "If he wants to call it that."

"We know the Digital World better than anyone," said Mummymon. "For better or for worse... It's true that it's a beautiful place and it's full of all sorts of cool things... but it can be really dangerous. Even at times of peace... and especially now that the Kaiser is controlling so many Digimon. We know you're capable of dealing with it," he assured Iori. "You're brave and smart, you can hold your own in a fight, and you have Armadimon and the other kids, but..." he sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "It's just that... we can't help but feel concerned. I mean, you're... we like you."

This took Iori by surprise. "You... like me?" he stammered.

Mummymon's face fell a bit. "I thought that'd be clear after almost three years..."

Iori shook his head. "No, no, I _know_ that! But—that's really why you guys...?"

"Well, yeah..." Mummymon mumbled. "I mean, I'm really proud of you for being a Chosen Child, but I was still worried... I guess in the same way your parents and your grandpa and Oikawa-san are worried."

Iori felt his father squeezing his shoulders again. He glanced at Oikawa and his mother and grandfather, and noticed that something in their expressions softened. Mummymon was right; they felt the same way as he did.

"And Arukenimon suggested we follow you around and see how you do for a few days..."

"Just so Mummymon would stop fretting over it," Arukenimon added, sounding very defensive. "He was getting annoying. I thought he'd stop it if we saw Iori making short work of the Kaiser's minions. Nothing much happened yesterday, so we came back today."

"This was supposed to be the last time, really!" Mummymon insisted. "I wanted to see you handle a big mission just so I'd be less concerned... I'm so sorry." He sighed, hanging his head down again. "I shouldn't have barged in, you were all doing such a great job, but when I saw RedVeggiemon hurting you..."

"A _Digimon_ hurt him?" Fumiko asked, shocked. The others seemed alarmed as well.

"I-it's just a bruise..." Iori mumbled. Mummymon winced and bit his lip, giving Iori a contrite glance.

Arukenimon sighed. "Even if Mummymon hadn't barged in, all Iori would've ended up with in addition to that bruise is a bump on the head," she said. "A Digital body is much sturdier than a regular human body, and that includes digitized humans. RedVeggiemon isn't even that strong a Digimon, anyway."

"I shouldn't have barged in..." Mummymon repeated, head hanging below his shoulders. Arukenimon looked away from the others, looking uncomfortable.

"Don't say that."

Everyone stared at Iori, who continued. "I... I'm sorry I yelled at you. It... it was really great that you helped, even if I didn't ask for it."

Mummymon raised his head to gaze at Iori with wide eyes. "R-really?" he asked. Arukenimon looked back at Iori as well, eyebrows arched in surprise.

"Yeah..." Iori moved forward towards the hybrids, slipping from under his father's hands. "I mean, I would've liked it better if you'd told me first, but... I really didn't know you did it because you care so much. I thought... well, you know what I thought. But when I think of it now, knowing your real reason... it's great to know that you care so much... and you really did help us a lot."

"Everyone said so da'gya!" Upamon chimed in.

"The other Chosen...? Mummymon hazarded.

Iori nodded. "They said it was good to have allies... especially ones that know Gennai-san. And they were sad they didn't know how to contact you. I didn't agree with them at first, but now that I look back... they're right. It IS good to have allies. Especially ones like you." He smiled at them, all his anger completely gone and replaced with gratitude.

Arukenimon and Mummymon exchanged looks, and shared small, proud smiles.

"I just hope you won't make them accompany me to all our missions," Iori told the adults, nervous. "I made a really stupid mistake so I got hurt, I promise I won't make it a habit..."

"We won't," Hiroki assured him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Everyone makes mistakes. Learning from them is what makes the difference... and you're the kind of kid that learns from his mistakes. We have full trust in you. You don't mind me speaking for you, right?" he addressed the other adults.

They all shook their heads. "I won't lie, I'm still worried," said Fumiko. "But I completely trust you... they didn't choose you to save the Digital World for no reason, right?"

Chikara nodded. "The more I hear about the Chosen Children, the more I'm convinced that you can do it, Iori. I said I will have trust in you... and I am not a man that breaks his word."

Yukio shrugged. "Don't let me stop you, I'm just your dad's old friend. But I'm behind you, if it makes a difference," he said, smiling.

"I trust Iori da'gya!" Upamon shouted, bouncing in Fumiko's arms.

Iori felts his heart practically swelling with pride. "Thank you, everyone," he said, beaming.

"Iori." Arukenimon looked unusually subdued. "You really do make for a good Chosen Child. Good call with the Dark Tower today." Beside her, Mummymon nodded meekly.

"Thank you..." Iori flushed a bit. "Listen... would it be alright if I told the other Chosen that I figured out how to contact you? Like I said... it'd be good to have allies. Of course, if you don't want to fight the Kaiser..."

The hybrids' faces lit up. "Of course it'd be alright!" exclaimed Mummymon, smiling broadly. "I meant what I said back then, we _do_ want to protect the Digital World!"

"I've been wanting to give the Kaiser what's coming to him for over a month," said Arukenimon, grinning impishly. "He's going to be sorry he ever tried to take over the Digital World when I'm through with him."

Iori smiled. "Okay, that's settled then... you're officially allies of the Chosen Children."

Mummymon cheered, giving Arukenimon a tight hug. Iori thought he heard her call him an idiot under her breath before hugging him back.

"Hmm. You know, that explains why the Village of Beginnings was unguarded during the afternoon shift two days in a row," Yukio said, addressing Hiroki.

Hiroki nodded. "Right, that... we did wonder," he said, narrowing his eyes menacingly at the hybrids.

"You did what?" Iori asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mummymon yelped, letting go of Arukenimon. She just groaned. "Come on, this was more important than guarding the Village of Beginnings!"

Yukio crossed his arms. "Was it, now."

"I'm sure Elecmon would love to hear that," Hiroki smirked. "He almost suffered a nervous breakdown. Good thing Centarumon offered to take the afternoon shift until the situation clears up. Gennai is quite unhappy, you know."

Yukio nodded in confirmation. "Very unhappy indeed. Oh, did we mention you're grounded?"

"_What_?!"

"For abandoning your duties two days in a row."

"How about a week of night shifts, in addition to that?" Hiroki asked Yukio. "I think Meramon would appreciate it."

Yukio chuckled. "Great minds think alike, Hiroki."

"_NO_!!!"

As Arukenimon and Mummymon tried to bargain their way out of their punishment, Chikara and Fumiko exchanged meaningful looks, deciding that it would be best to leave the area for a few minutes. With that, Chikara retreated to the master bedroom and Fumiko ushered Iori and Upamon to the kitchen. As Fumiko prepared an ice pack for Iori and Upamon devoured a rice cake as big as his own body, Iori leaned on the kitchen counter and smiled to himself. Even if he _was_ a Chosen Child, and it was his duty to protect others... it felt incredibly nice to know that there were people who felt it's their duty to protect him.

O

"So, they figured it out."

In the middle of a dark room, with computer screens on every wall, stood a tall, dark figure. The figure chuckled.

"No matter. It wasn't very important, strategically. Still, very interesting..."

It smirked.

"This is going to be fun."

**To Be Continued...**

**Notes:** Food notes. **Melonpan** is a type of sweet bread popular in Japan, made from brioche bread covered in a thin layer of crispy cookie dough. It is named melonpan because its shape is reminiscent of a melon. **Yakiniku** refers to a way of grilling bite-sized meat and vegetables (as the name suggests – yakiniku means "grilled meat"), and is sometimes referred to as "Japanese BBQ".

I should probably explain why Arukenimon dislikes the –chan honorific so much. -chan is one of the more informal honorifics, used mostly to address girls and children, and which can be considered rather cutesy in some contexts. Arukenimon hates cute (or so she claims) and being treated like anything other than an adult, and thus finds it very patronizing. Of course, Fumiko is just being a polite person; she calls Miyako "Miyako-chan" as well, simply because she's a younger female.


End file.
